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I was able to throw my leg over my bike this morning for the first time in three weeks and while still riding on the shirt tails of a cold it was hard work. I decided that I would go over the local heath as I know I would not be up doing my normal Sunday Throop loop and there were some new sections on the heath I wanted to check out. One a short trail I found on a video, one was one that I could not remember where it came out and the other was a hill that I have targeted to be able to ride up in one go. This morning (only the third time I have been up it) it took two recovery stops to get up the hill, in the coming months I will be working on getting up there in one go and once I have conquered that hill I can move on to its big brother (twice as long) which I have rode up in one on a couple of occasions but I was no good for anything when I got to the top so I am looking at being able to do it in one and make it look easy.

Saw a mountain biker who shall we say was doing a different kind of riding in a BMW convertible, not that I was worried but please on a residential road!!

Also had a numpty in a four wheel drive who thought it would be good to see if he could run me and some pedestrians over as we crossed pelican crossing. Yes he had the green light but he was still on the round about 60mtr prior to the pelican crossing so we had plenty of time to cross with out obstructing him, even the pedestrians got a cross with out a problem but it did not stop him from screaming the engine and glaring at us as we crossed in front of him. I offered him a single digit salute to let him know how I felt.

Just spent a pointless 2 hours trying to get something to run on the server at work this afternoon (need everybody of the system to run), it failed, not sure why as it ran perfectly when I did this in November. The joy of working from home over a weekend, looks like I will be trying again tomorrow evening.

You know the saying, if it was not for bad luck I would have no luck at all? that exactly how I feel at the moment. I have only been out riding once in the last 10 days and that was with my son and the ride ended with my forks giving up the ghost. I noticed that I lost all but a inch of travel (as opposed to the 4 it should have). Once home no amount of gentle coaxing or strong expletive language could bring them, back to working order, they were going to need a professional service. Now the last thing I needed now was a repair bill just before xmas but had I not decided to get them repaired it meant no riding over xmas and new year for me. I did consider servicing the forks myself but decided not as there is a difference in carrying out a service and repairing a set of faulty forks and I wanted them working by Xmas eve so there was not a lot of time to mess around.

A quick check around the Internet and TFTuned seemed to be the people to service my Rockshox Forks . To be honest I did try another company but after four attempts during the day they failed to pick up the phone (and still have not returned my answer phone message I left). So a quick call to TFTuned so see if there were any inherent faults or any other sort of gotcha with these forks to which they said there was not. So Monday night I filled in the online service request form and parcelled up the forks for their trip to TFTuned on Tuesday.

This morning just after 11am I got a phone call from TFTuned saying the forks were ready, a complete service, all new seals throughout the forks and a bill for £89. On the one hand it is an expense I could do with out, on the other it is cheaper than a new pair of forks and now I will be able to ride over the Xmas and New year break, so it is win win for me…………….what do you mean how? I now can’t afford an xmas booze so I won’t ruin my dieting by drinking and I can carry on riding to help with my weight loss, well that is my story and I am sticking to it.

Hopefully I will be doing my traditional Christmas eve ride, done it for the last couple of years, weather is looking OK. Then hopefully I will be out for a early Boxing day ride.

As for the rest of life it is a right pain in the rear, work is nothing but a nightmare at the moment, I think somebody has tied a target on my back as most of the agro seems to be directed in my direction at the moment. My other problem, or rather the other half problem of being made redundant on Jan 31st is not really helping matters, neither was a decline after what she thought was a successful job interview today. Seem to remember being in a similar position this time last year.

Now for the not very regularly ABS (Arse Behind a Steeringwheel) Award goes to a driver on the M3 this morning just south of J9 A34. I was on the inside lane which becomes the slip road while the middle and outside lane continue on as the M3, I was going a bit faster than the car in the middle lane and the lane marking between lane 1 (sliproad) and lane 2 (now lane 1) had changed to show that I was clearly now on the slip road, so what does the ABS do, move and indicate (in that order) onto the now slip road narrowly missing my front bumper because he did not like me undertaking him. He then realises that he is now on the slip road for the A34 and promptly moves back into the now inside lane of the M3 and accelerates away.

Yesterday ABS Award goes to the little old lady in her silver Micra who waited until the lorry was about 50yds from the junction before pulling out in front of him, thankfully there was nothing coming in the other direction and the lorry was able to swerve onto the other side of the road to avoid her whilst locking everything up in a clouds of blue tyre smoke. I was speechless at her stupidity, I not sure what the lorry driver said but I some how don’t think it was printable judging by the hand gesticulation I could see in his cab mirror.

No single thread to this blog today, just lot of little of snip-its and pictures

Here a picture of what I have been working on at work

Servers & Sans

Two new servers (the green lights) and two new San units (only read if you like reading geek) above the servers. A total of 36 disks, 18 in each San unit which is small fry to large corporation style sans but for a small business, it is a lot.

Took the camera out and took some pictures for the first time in months. Only went down to the local beach on a windy day but it was fun.

Here is a kite surfer about to launch their kite.

Kite launch

The shot was taken looking towards the sun which is why everything look so dull apart from the bright blue kite.

Here a shot looking out toward France (it is over the horizon a bit!!)

Breaking waves

Finally from the camera a dog and ball leaving the water, I had a bit of fun with this one

Dog, ball and water

On the bike riding front, I was intending to go on a club ride this afternoon, but thing got in the way and ended up going shopping this morning when I wanted to do a couple of bits on my bike. So I did the work on the bike this afternoon, including bleeding the rear brake as it was a little soft and every intention of going out tomorrow morning.

On Thursday it rained, then rained again and just for good measure absolutely chucked it down late afternoon. We went shopping as mentioned in my last blog and the shop were packed. I think the families were using it as an excuse to pick-up there Halloween goodies for the weekend except at Sainsbury which had a half price toy sale. There were people wandering round Sainsbuys with two trolleys, one for food and one for toys.

Friday was another day for riding, went out in the afternoon, went for a ride across the local heath then into Delph Woods then down the Castleman Train to the Roman Road at Upton, then up the hill until I turned off on to Upton Heath. I have only ridden this bit once before and I thought the turn off was in the first quarter of the hill not the last. This part of Upton Heath is the part that was featured on the national news earlier in the year when it went up in flames due to a suspected arson attack. The whole area has now started to regrow, the only sign of the fire is the blacken trunks and branches of the trees and bushes. Apparently the wild life has moved back into the area, I met a photographer who was stalking a deer which after I came rattling down a hill had moved into a clump of trees and out of site, opps

Saturday I had to work, only made worse by the fact that I had to travel to the head office in Worcs. so no riding. I was supposed to be riding with the son today but he stayed over at the mother in-laws last night and did not want to come back for a ride, add to that it has been raining all day so I did not go in the end. Definitely going out riding tomorrow morning regardless of the weather. Going with the wife to Moors Valley where we will both ride the Through the Tree trail and then I will shoot off and ride some other bits while she pootles back to the van. I am not back to work till Wednesday so I am hoping to get another ride then.

I am not really sure where I should focus my mind at the moment, I don’t like looking back and thinking about what would of been had I done thing differently, I don’t want to look forward as that only make me think about forthcoming problems and I not happy where I am now.

This past week has been a strange week, a sort of lull before the storm, although I am not sure when the storm is going to hit. Work has been those sort of days when you are busy all day and then look back at the end of the day and nothing has been accomplished, you just spend the whole day dealing with lots of minor dead end problems. I am on holiday for the second part of next week and the first part of the following week but it looks at the moment that I am going to have to work on Saturday (the one in the middle of my holiday) again, work that one out!

I am living in a house of bugs, we had a phone call on Monday asking us to collect our son from school as he was unwell. Fortunately I was able to leave work and go and collect him, since then is has had a hacking cough. I was feeling below par earlier in the week. The wife felt under the weather in the middle of the week. The only one who has not been ill is the daughter and she been working long hours and overnight so she been temperamental because she is tired.

Virgin Media are really peeing me off, the internet problem I complained about back in May and contacted them again at the end of September and early October which they complete ignored is still on going. I have not contacted them yet as I know it won’t be a pleasant call to them. I am planning on doing it one day next week when I am on holiday but I will be more angry when I come off the phone than when I start……

I have done no riding this week, I had planned to go out one night this past week but forgot to put my light on charge (it takes over 18 hour to charge). Then I decided not to ride the following night as the weather forecast was iffy and it turned out to be a lovely night………well would of been had I gone out for a ride.

I am not happy with the bike at the moment, it has a creak and I can’t find it and I hate the sound of that creak as I pedal along. I spent this morning and the early part of the afternoon trying to find the creak to no avail. I popped into my local bike shop for some (creak resolution) advice, his advice was to go over everything I have done again. I picked up a few useful tips on the Mountain Bike Forum so I have a lot to do tomorrow and my son want to go for a ride although that will depend on how bad his cough is.

I think I am getting to that age when all you do is moan……………