xendistar.co.uk

OK so I posted this morning as I could not be bothered last night, so now I have to post a second time today to cover the bits about to day, damm this blogging is hard work …………….

It seems as though everybody is moving to using the WordPress blogging software, you can either go to WordPress.com for WordPress to host the blog for you or WordPress.org for the software to host the blog yourself (you will need a hosting package from an Internet service provider if you want to do it yourself). Three of the sites I follow Massive MTBer, Welsh Cyclist and Lezz (the moon walking bear) (there is probably more) have recently moved over to WordPress (not sure who using hosted or self hosting). I have been using WordPress for around 8 months now and once you have your feet under the table it is so simple to use.

Todays entertainment, well today started early about 6am in fact when I bashed the alarm clock for going off when I am on holiday. When I eventually dragged myself out of bed it was *issing down, option one early morning ride out the window. The daughter was working this evening so we stayed local today and drove to Poole and then walked down to the old town, along the quay and around the shopping centre, funny while we were out it never rained.

I had to go the the local bike shop this afternoon which is over the other side of Bournemouth so once we were all back in the car I headed for the other side of Bournemouth. About half way along to the shop my daughter tells me that she need to catch the early bus to get to work on time and with going to the shop and the wife wanting to do some more shopping for one item (make note) she would miss her bus and be late for work, so I had to turn round and head back towards home, oh hum.

A quick visit to the cycle shop (a long visit can get expensive) and I was on my way out the door but this caught my eye Team Sky Replica road bike, it looks lovely but look at the price !!!

Anyway as I mentioned earlier the wife wanted to go to one shop for one item, why then did we come out with 8 items, if I had gone into the bike shop for one item and come out with 8……….well either I would not have got out the shop door alive or told not to come home!!

When we got home, the daughter was still there, apparently lunch took longer to cook and she will get a later bus!!

As the rain had cleared off I decide to finish the bike clean I gave up on on Sunday due to the rain, got the bike out the shed and it started to rain again, I just can’t win. The bike is now already for the off tomorrow, the GPS has the map and route downloaded ready. I have done part of tomorrows route in the past but that involved driving some 8 miles to a country pub, starting and finishing the ride there. Tomorrow I will be riding from home. A little apprehensive over my back but a little peddle down the road tonight seemed to be OK.

And finally (a curve ball), how many 50 years olds do you know that like Pendulum?? Currently listening to Pendulum Live at the Brixton Academy, already listen to their latest Album (there showing my age, CD), Immersion

Well the lesson from my last ride was quickly forgotten, went for a ride out in the New Forest this morning and left my sun glasses behind again. Started from Lyndhurst and went on an 18.2 mile loop out as far as Beaulieu Heath (I could see Fawley oil refinery a couple of miles away) and then headed back to Lyndhurst. Started in drizzly rain which then turned to muggy grey overcast skies with occasional sunshine and boy was it hot and muggy when the sun came out. I was actually glad when it clouded back over. Having left my sun glasses behind I was fortunate not to need them to keep the insect population out of my eyes as I rode round.

While most of the ride was flat I was concerned that I really struggled on the little upward slopes, the only thing I can think of is that I never locked out the rear shock and that was because I never viewed any of the slopes as a hill or would cause me a problem.

I rode on my own this morning as the wife is sidelined on doctors orders. Having spent many weeks perfecting the art of falling of her bike and landing on her knee, it seem as thought the knee has now called time on this. She has to go for an X-ray and maybe an MRI Scan and wait for an appointment from Orthopaedic department to see what is wrong with the knee. My suggestion of fitting a couple of grease nipple either side of the knee did not go down to well…………

I had the Whyte into CycleFix, nothing was wrong with the bike apart from an annoying squeak, but I wanted a qualified once overs as the limited warranty I had on the bike runs out next week. Thankfully they found nothing wrong and sorted the annoying squeak as well.

Decided that I am going to change the way this blog looks, also going to add a new section, you will have to pop back and see what the section will be about as I am not saying. I don’t have any particular theme in mind for the site yet, I will spend some time looking for a new theme I like and testing it to see what it looks like so you may find the site is changing on a regular basis over the next few weeks.

I want to congratulate Clive at Massive MTBer on hitting the 5 stone weight loss marker, well done mate your an inspiration to all us large cyclist.

As for the title of this blog, I could not come up with a title, simple

That is exactly what I got when we went to go out this afternoon, got in the car, turned the key click click click, all the electrics in the car had reset themselves to zero and were now in French (that’s what you get for having a Peugeot). I phoned the lease company (company car) at 13:45 and they said the AA would be out by 14:30. The AA text me at 13:55 to say they will be with me at 14:05, AA turned up at 14:10.

It seems as though the battery dropped a cell and I needed a new battery, the AA man had a nice little computer jobby to test the battery and tell him I needed a new battery (it also told him the type of battery, the current age of the battery and a lot more as well). This was where the fun started, first he had to get the old one out which was no mean feat, then he has to get authority to fit a new one which he had on the van………….at least he thought he did. He had two batteries in the van, one the correct size but with a lower ampage, one with the correct ampage but to big to fit the in the space for the battery. The AA are supposed to have 24hr call out with UniPart so if they need a part they can get hold of it. Local Unipart depot is 5 minutes drive up the road from me. So he phones Unipart and the call went straight to (mobile) answer the phone, he waited for about 20 minutes and tried several more times but it was always the same, just kept going to answer phone.

In the end he fitted the lower ampage battery and we were on our way by 15:00, not bad, an hour and a quarter from time of reporting the problem till I was on the move.

Unfortunately that put pay to my afternoon plans, I was going to take the wife out to a cycle shop she has not been to before to look at some bikes (dropping a few hints not that she needs reminding…….) but as wifey needed to pick up some bits for Sunday dinner and it was 15:00 it was off to the shopping centre and the bike shop will have to wait for another week.

Went out for my normal Sunday ride this morning at 7:30 and it was cold, the sun that was out and shinning when I got up at 6:30 but was now hiding behind a blanket of grey cloud. It took a good 40 minutes before I could feel any heat in my arms. I did my normal loop along the river from Northbourne to the weir at Throop, then across the fields towards Hurn Court School, then I dive off into the woods (not sure of the name) and cycle across the woods until I get to the Avon Causeway Road and cross that on to Sopley Common. I exit Sopley common near the rear entrance to Hurn Airport Industrial area and cycle along the road to Hurn Forest. I zig-zag my way across the forest for 6 miles and exit at Oakdene caravan park. Here I take a narrow footpath which I have now renamed Stinging nettle alley, on my left I have a 6ft high wire mesh fence that has been pushed into the footpath in places. The path is about a handle bars width and on my right are trees and bushes along with stinging nettles, brambles and common weeds all over the place. This leads down to a bridge over the Moor River (read stream). From here I take the short path to East Parley Common. I head across the common until I meet the Hurn road and then take the road back toward Hurn airport main entrance before turning off for Merritown and heading across the fields toward the weir at Throop. Then I just follow the path back along the river and home, nice little 27 mile round trip. The return along the river is normally quite busy with dog walkers, seemed extra busy along there today with fishermen, think it might be the start of the fishing season.

The new rear wheel and tyre behaved itself but I will need to pop the bike into the repair shop to get the gears re-indexed as they are not quite right, it seem to be on a gear higher on the cassette than it is registering on the indicator, the front needs adjusting as it is rubbing on the pickup arm when on the large chain ring and on the granny ring anything lower than 4 and it jumps. Now I know it is not to difficult to do but with all the gear problems I have had I want it sorted and running correctly before I brave it and have ago myself. Its not bad they have lasted since I had the major repair in mid March.

Tomorrow is weigh in might, watch this space…………….