So. No blogposts since December. And yet there has been a rich seam of events and stories to write about and stuff to muse over. No explanations needed for the break – sometimes it just happens.
However, lately I’ve been thinking about ...
1. Lance Armstrong and his confessions (really?) I got up extraordinarily early to witness his remorse and hear his apologies. The most honest moment of the morning was when I told Beautiful wife Jo that I’d already had a bowl of Crunchy Nut cornflakes when I sat down later for ‘real’breakfast. They’re just so crunchy! And I’m not the only one to think so ... take a look at this excellent advertisement!
Crunchy Nut Dinosaur http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-9j0avaoPA
I don’t have a great deal to say about Lance. I’ve always wanted to have a positive blog, so the best I can say is .... I’m glad I never took the time to read any of his books, therefore I had no illusions to be shattered. Move on all concerned – although I know there’ll be loads of news in the coming months about law suits, reclaimation of prize money, et al. Ho hum.
A cheap bit of symbolism from Paris 2010
2. Coffee ... generally. And particularly with regard to my Baby Gaggia Coffee maker. Two months later and it’s proving to be a life changer. No need to leave the home to have a quality coffee – more on this later.
3. Excellent subscriptions for Christmas for me and my boys – many thanks from us three lads to you Auntie Rachel (boys), Lovely Sister in Law (me). Body transformations imminent!
A year's worth of 6 pack ABS advice - but no cocaine problems to solve!
Beautiful Wife has started reading the ladies equivalent! Fitness abounding in our house!
4. Starting up a peleton. Last Tuesday, six school chums and I cycled out from school to Tewkesbury Costa for coffee and cake – it was the first ride out for the DC Peleton, numbers are growing on the staff and in a small Common Room of just over thirty staff we could (in theory) raise eleven roadies. More rides to follow – and perhaps a team shirt?
5. Snow! Enough of it to close the school down, creating a long weekend and plenty of sculptures. I was amused by the notion put out by the Environmental Agency that we should all build an ‘Army of Snowmen’ in order to slow down the risk of flooding. Can you imagine how many snowmen we would need to cover our school field? And how long it would take?
Vehicles going nowhere!
Anyway, that lead nicely to The Turbo. Inevitably the snow leads to indoor riding and I’ve been having some quality times on the bike in the office. Movies, music, a view of the Cotswolds through the window....it’s not the road, but it’s still pretty good - Jo thinks so too – she doesn’t like me out on the road in the foul conditions – but it's good to keep the limbs spinning. I downloaded a training programme called Sufferfest from Sufferfest.com. It's called 'A Very Dark Place'. Important to have some variety on the turbo - we'll see how it goes.
Finally, a picture of Jo and our dear friends Suze and Nige, cycling near Chedworth in our glorious Cotswolds. Taken this last Sunday, a beautiful ride taking in some vigorous hill climbs, culminating in an obscenely large half a roast chicken dinner in the Mill at Withington - a traditionally quaint Cotswold hostelry.
