Wednesday 29 February 2012

7/366

Granny's flat
I was on a local route today which took me down memory lane, well Ulldale Court to be precise. 

This is where my Gran lived before she passed away 22 years ago.  It brought back memories of when as a 12 year old lad I used to ride up through the army barracks to see 'Granny'.  Each visit would be virtually the same, I'd walk in say "Hello", give her a kiss and be told to make a drink, before been given a few pennies to go to the shop next door.  20 odd years later I'm back in the shop delivering bread...

Back to the late 80's, I'd then have to recall my every move since the last visit to Granny, and then listen to her moan about anything that took her fancy, there was always something!  She would rarely move from her chair, perfectly positioned so she could see just about everything with moving a muscle, out the window, the TV her kitchen and bed area and even if she moved her head just a fraction who was coming through the door, though she'd tell you no one ever did, we all knew different.  There was a strange smell about the place, at the time I could never figure it out, I now know it to be a smell created by several OAP's with weak bladders and the subsequent bleaches and sterilisers. 

Not the greatest of memories you may think, but she was moved to this warden assisted flat as she could no longer cope alone in Scarborough and needed care and to be closer to her family.  Of course prior to this when in better health there are fonder memories despite her being a grumpy old girl most of the time, must be where I get it from then.....  

Now tucked up in bed watching what I can of the football before falling asleep ahead of my last shift for 9 days.

Tuesday 28 February 2012

6/366

Finally finished my probationary period at Warburtons, glad to say I have been accepted and will be receiving my permanent contract, it was a formality really seeing as I've been working on my own now since before Christmas but still a relief to have have actually signed the induction period off.

Church lake, Attenborough Nature Reserve 2009
So how did I celebrate this?  A drink at the pub? A spot of lunch? .... No, a 6 mile run!

I began running last November as a more time efficient way of exercising, and it's easier to go for a run in the winter than get myself and the bike ready for a ride. 

After a few niggles with the hamstring and knee in my left leg I am now going well, in fact I've not looked back since starting.  Much of my weight loss can be attributed to running. 

It's hard to believe I couldn't run 100 metres this time last year without getting out of breath and giving up, I'm now able to run 10k's and still feel as if I could go further.  As with most things I try I have set myself goals for running, a 10k event at Wollaton Hall is my first event, just as a taster really to organised runs.  Then I would like to do a half marathon, after that I suppose the obvious progression would be to try a full distance marathon.  

Today's pic with Attenborough Nature Reserve in mind is of the lake by the church with my old mtb in the foreground.

Monday 27 February 2012

5/366

A pretty mundane day of nothingness, get up a silly o'clock to be at work for 4 am, get home to find a pair of damp ripped knickers on the kitchen worktop..... upon closer inspection these had been gnawed at by the washing machine, what is it with washing machines, why do they occasionally and randomly pick on a item of clothing and attack it until the death?  Is it the same evil streak that steals socks never to be returned?

My only observation of not today, and I did warm you it was a day of nothingness.... why do most car drivers seem to have an obsession with beating the lorry?  People will actually endanger themselves and others to get in front of a lorry.  But what really takes the biscuit is when, as happened this morning a driver will tear away from the lights endangering themselves to get in front of my lorry, to then drive along at 25mph in a 30mph zone....WHY? What the fuck was she (yes she) thinking?

The other crackers are the ones who think they are being helpful by flashing a lorry through into a space that is nowhere near big enough for the vehicle, whilst they are sat still beckoning me into a non existent space traffic is building up behind them and me, and before we know it we are in a impossible situation that even Houdini would struggle to get out of.  Then the clowns that sit at a junction waving you through when it's quite clear if I do proceed I'll be putting some lovely tyre marks across the bonnet of their car..... maybe people should be given an understanding of how much space larger vehicles need so they can be more concious of this when on the roads.

One positive from the day, my weekly visit to the scales showed another 3lb lost, now down to 14 stone 5lbs, that's over two stone lost since August!  Not far to my target weight now. 

I have started to keep notes of subjects that enter my random mind for such days as today so hopefully I will always have something to blog about.  Today's photo is not from today as I saw nothing worth photographing, unless you wanted to see those pants.

Taken at Blackgang Chine, Isle of White 2009

Sunday 26 February 2012

4/366

Sundays at work, something up until recently I have flatly refused to partake in, but after a rough time work wise over the past 18 months (another story for another day) I have a refreshing new outlook upon work.  Sundays now generally mean a shorter and much easier day at a steady pace, all very civilised for the Sabbath.
Following work and a spot of lunch we ventured en famille to Creswell Crags courtesy of some Groupon vouchers Mrs H had purchased, we first happened upon the Crags last year whilst exploring the Worksop area and decided we would revisit for a guided tour of the caves which were inhabited by neanderthal man in the ice age.  The tour was not the greatest but gave a basic knowledge and understanding of the history of the gorge and caves.  The stuffed hyena in the picture represents one of the caves past residents, 30,000 year old hyena dung was found in one of the caves.  Worth a visit if you can get a tour at a good price.
Blogging from my phone on the Android Blogger app tonight so it may not be as aesthetically pleasing but at least the app gives me the option of saving drafts, something I can't seem to find on the full Blogger website.

Saturday 25 February 2012

3/366

Back into work after my two rest days, I still can't get used to starting work on random days of the week, but the random days off can make up for that.  Mr angry came out to play for a few moments today during an altercation with a taxi driver.  I was reversing my 36ft lorry into a side road to serve a shop, as I pulled past the road it was clear so I proceeded to reverse in.  As I'm turning in a taxi flies up to the junction and just sits there leaving me half in/half out with nowhere to go.  After a short stand off I point out to the driver what I am trying to do and he just sits there refusing to allow me to continue.  A minute passes by and the stand off continues, I'm starting to get a little excited by now, taxi man still refusing to reverse up.  What do I do? Two choices.... drive out of the road thus giving in or park up on the junction and make my delivery..... those that know me will know I chose the latter.

I just shrugged my shoulders as I passed the taxi rather than get in a row with a bloody great advertising hoard in the shape of a lorry behind me.  The shopkeeper was amazed at the taxi driver, I wish I could say the same, but sadly there seem to be a large section of taxi drivers who appear to think they know best and drive to their own set of rules.  Ready for some abuse from the driver on my way back to the truck and I see him finally budging and gingerly making his way around my truck.  Altercation avoided but my point made I feel.

This afternoon Robert and I were at Meadow Lane to see Notts County for the second time this week, this time courtesy of some free tickets from Roberts friend who was a mascot for today's game against Chesterfield.  The game was by no means a classic but to 1-0 scoreline in County's favour was a fair reflection on the game.  And for a change the officials weren't too bad which was refreshing, I was beginning to wonder how the match officials were still in a job at this level, the last few matches we have seen the linesmen seemed to be making wild guesses at what was happening.

Noticed a flaw in my '365' plan, it's a leap year this year, so from now on it's a '366' plan....

Friday 24 February 2012

2/365

Well already I'm struggling to fill a small section of my blog, good job I was off work today and had the fortune to take another bike ride.

Before this though came the task of fitting some new pedals to the bike, an annoying creak yet to be identified gave me the justification I needed to buy some new pedals, needless to say the creak is still there after the pedals were changed.  With the new pedals came new cleats for my shoes, lesson one learned for today was how important it is to clean your cleats regularly, I haven't done so and struggled like hell to remove the old ones.  After a good half hour of fiddling and swearing, a few good squirts of WD40 I eventually liberated the outgoing cleats from the base of my shoes.

New pedals and cleats fitted it was time for a test run, two objectives for the ride.... 1: Ride for two hours 2: Avoid comedy falls and stay upright at all times.  Happy to say both objectives were met, the float on the pedals was set to the looser side of centre, which gave the same amount of 'float' on my previous set up but was much harder to unclip from, a bit more practice needed I think.

So the ride itself, a couple of hours on my training route around Sutton Bonnington, West Leake and Gotham at a steady pace in blustery conditions.  The good thing about this route is that one can add or remove sections to the ride easily depending on the mood or time allowance and it's mainly flat with a few steady slopes within easy reach, not hills but inclines which can be 'powered' up.

The other benefit to riding loops on a windy day is there are no prolonged spells of riding into the wind, it's never too long before you turn out of the wind and receive a gentle push from the invisible hand which was just against your face. 

Today I rode in my Macmillan Cancer Support jersey for the first time, I got this 2 years ago for my sponsored C2C ride, it was the largest one Macmillan had in stock, lets just say it wasn't very flattering on my chunky frame.  Since then I've shed a fair bit of timber (almost 2 stone since last August) and finally I can fit inside this jersey without testing the stitching on the seams.



Distance = 51.5 km
Time = 1 hrs 58 mins
Ave Speed = 26.2 kph
Ascent = N/A

2012
Road Bike = 663.2 km
Indoor = 263.5 km
Ran = 83.4 km
Total = 1010.3 km

Scrambling eggs the proper way, it's a crime to microwave them!


Thursday 23 February 2012

1/365 - A year in my life

Inspired by my friend Aiden's attempt to blog daily for 365 days on his Getting There blog I am going to also give this a try, after a slightly shaky start Aiden's blogging is maturing daily and after the first few days of thinking this isn't going to work I am now hooked on his daily updates. I'm sure my first few attempts will be somewhat awkward but I am hoping mine too will mature into mostly interesting reading, or maybe not....who knows?

So what can you expect, well probably some grumpy bits, that is me after all, you'll also be subjected to plenty of cycling related ramblings as well as some bits about my attempts to run a half marathon this summer (I'll save that story for another day when I'm struggling to blog something) maybe a bit about my very poor pool playing. I am hoping that my quite poor writing ability will develop over the next 365 days, I've never really got the hang of this blogging malarkey so this really could be quite painful for the readers (if there are any) I apologise now for my mundane ramblings.

I will also try to add a photo from every day of the next year, don't expect too much but at least it will bring a little colour if nothing else to these pages.

Today's picture is of a beer brewed with honey which I am sampling, a cheap offering from Lidl as I like to drink on a budget.  As a honey lover this one caught my eye and I must admit it hasn't failed to impress, quite a smooth ale with a definite hint of honey.  Each week during our family shop I usually sneak off to see what 'different' beers or ciders are on offer, and I have to say that despite the budget supermarket I have been treated to some real delights.

Also on 'Day 1' I have partaken in a rather splendid bike ride which can be read about here

Thursday 23 February

It's been a while since I rode outdoors, nearly a month in fact, cold weather, snow and a dodgy knee and hamstring have all conspired against me.  Well the knee and hamstring seem to be on the mend, I've managed three 5 mile runs in the last 10 days with no problems, so fingers crossed.  And the weather (for now) has definitely improved, 15c and sunny out there today in February!

So it's high time I got out there and put some miles in, 63 of them....  an old favourite route of mine the Burton Loop.  It was a pleasure to feel the sun on my skin again, indeed I'll claim my first tan points of the season I think.  Took it pretty steady but felt good, the (almost) 2 stone I've lost since last summer really is making things easier.  It started of mild and cloudy but by the time I reached Rangemore on the western side of Burton the sun was out and was really quite warm, I felt warm anyway as up to the that point I been battling a headwind all the way, a few more miles to the turn at Barton Under Needwood and I'd be wind assisted pretty much all the way home.  And with the wind giving me a gentle push home I sat up a little and just enjoyed the day, faster rides will come in the summer, for today it was all about enjoying myself.




Distance = 102.4 km
Time = 3 hrs 52 mins
Ave Speed = 26.4 kph
Ascent = 807 (m/km = 8.1)

2012
Road Bike = 611.7 km
Indoor = 263.5 km
Ran = 55 km
Total = 930.2 km

Loving my new jersey