funknbikes

groove

2012-02-15T05:16:00.002Z

enjoyment

2011-12-27T08:40:00.000Z

enjoyed
this

and am looking forward to this.

I enjoyed travelling here.

mud, girls, bikes

2011-12-24T07:34:00.000Z

4ème Manche de CDM cyclo-cross from Petitesreines on Vimeo.

molloy and sons

2011-12-06T21:09:00.001Z

Molloy & Sons: Heritage Tweed on Nowness.com.

the tsunami and the cherry blossom

2011-12-06T12:10:00.001Z

are gears electric

2011-11-11T22:19:00.001Z

This week Campagnolo launched its electric gear package, it looks bulky, clumsy and needs a battery. As someone who remembers Mektronic and its precursor Zap , I am not convinced.
Never and I repeat 'never' have I been on a ride and pondered, "I wish this gearshift was electric" and never have I heard a fellow rider desire such a component. Why oh why are we being subjected to this nonsense? It disappoints me, I love my Campagnolo but it would appear they too have been suckered into some tit for tat race to the lightest, shitest, electricist, expensivist and ugliest group set.

My bicycles are freedom, they allow me under the power of my own effort to ride away from a world that increasingly bludgeons me with technology. During the day if I am not at the wheel of a very comfortable and safe car, I'm staring into the ultra thin screen of this computer or tippy tapping a message on my blunderbuss phone. My bicycles do not need this interference, they remind me of the sheer beauty of my strength and my weakness.

I'm not going to dwell too much on this as I really would rather be riding my bike or sorting my shit out for tomorrows big ride or indeed finishing these crisps and that glass of wine, I just need to clear my head.

Gene Simmons summed it up in a recent interview in Mojo; “Technology is a seductive bitch, she will seduce you, you press this button, you don’t have to do anything. But analog is the love of your life. You can push real hard and it always gives back.”

Oh as an aside (listen up retro bikers), I have a boxed, Browning Automatic front transmission, never fitted to bike and for sale. Get in touch if you are interested, no reasonable offer refused.

And in other news:

the fork detail, really looking forward to this.

vintage bikes and sun

2011-11-11T06:58:00.001Z

something wicked this way comes

2011-11-10T16:01:00.000Z

hot rod girls

2011-10-29T07:08:00.002Z

over the hill

2011-10-06T09:43:00.002Z

tg

2011-09-29T22:19:00.003Z

always loved this photo

white man

2011-09-29T22:12:00.001Z

little bike, little ride, big rain

2011-09-22T06:27:00.001Z

kid creole

2011-09-08T23:12:00.000Z

talk

2011-09-08T06:56:00.000Z

verb [ intrans. ]speak in order to give information or express ideas or feelings; converse or communicate by spoken words : the two men talked |we'd sit and talk about jazz | it was no usetalking to Anthony | [ trans. ] you're talking rubbish.

"It's been ages since i went to see a band"

"I went to see one of them old punk bands, what were they called?"

"Sex Pistols"

"No"

"Damned"

"No, it'll come to me"

"Buzzcocks, that was it, they were terrible"

blokes phone rings. What is Love by Haddaway ringtone.

"Yeah there is a new restaurant in town, down from the station, Simon what's it called?"

"Oh, I can't remember, something French, I think"

"We were in the mosher pit at Kaiser Chiefs"

"Mosher Pit?"

"Yeah down the front"

blokes phone rings. What is Love by Haddaway ringtone.

"I saw David Bowie in March and he was gorgeous"

"Really!"

blokes phone rings. What is Love by Haddaway ringtone.

"I said to my friend today, you should see my underwear drawer, it's bloody chaos"

eavesdrop |ˈēvzˌdräp|verb ( -dropped , -dropping ) [ intrans. ]secretly listen to a conversation : she opened the window just enough to eavesdrop on the conversation outside.DERIVATIVESeavesdropper nounORIGIN early 17th cent.: back-formation from eavesdropper( late Middle English ) [a person who listens from under the eaves,] from the obsolete noun eavesdrop [the ground on to which water drips from the eaves,] probably from Old Norseupsardropi, from ups ‘eaves’ + dropi ‘a drop.’

are you glad to be in america

2011-09-02T07:55:00.000Z

the opposite of epic

2011-09-01T21:18:00.001Z

I rode my bike tonight.

it wasn't epic.

I rode my bike tonight,

I saw a woman with an bad expression on her face, it looked liked she needed a poo.

I heard an old bloke say, "cor blimey" followed by "gawd elp us"

I saw a goth on a bike, proper goth, but with lycra shorts

I rode my bike tonight,

I looked at the land,

smelled the soil,

soaked up the sun,

snarled at the wind,

I bowed in awe at working sheepdogs and the shepherd

I grinned at the sweat on my brow

I rode up a dead end road,

I rode on some virgin tarmac,

I rode

it wasn't snowing

it wasn't raining

it wasn't brutal

it wasn't epic

hotel notes

signs

an english thing

the unexplored road

fertile land

I wanted this to read, Patterdale Sandwich

the dead end

reward

my next album

2011-08-15T06:38:00.002Z

miranda sawyer is feeling it

2011-08-14T20:46:00.001Z

is it?
is it?

crash and burn

2011-08-13T18:45:00.002Z

eating for a better life

2011-08-13T06:55:00.000Z

is this it?

2011-07-26T06:03:00.002Z

The other night I sat alone in a very busy restaurant/bar, there was a lively and non threatening atmosphere, people doing ok out with friends and family for a midweek meal and a drink. The split was roughly 70% male and mostly in the 35-50 age bracket. I was the only one sitting alone but I’m used to that as I travel a fair bit. People watching is a bad yet addictive habit and having being reading about the eating habits of pro cyclists I looked at this room full of strangers in a new light. They were packing away some fairly serious calories and virtually all of them had a waistline that they weren’t getting rid of in a hurry. Looking closer at their faces there was a sadness that seemed to coming from them all, maybe I was feeling melancholic. But the eyes were dead all wearing an alcohol mask whilst laughing and eating, I wondered what they saw when they looked back, if indeed they saw anything.

Earlier that day I had met up with a good friend and colleague Matt to steal a midweek mtb ride, it was warm night and the trails at Llandegla were dusty and dry. We rode round at a brisk but manageable pace, blethering and bitching and enjoying the sun. We talked a lot about life, families, work, bikes and our history and again I thought about calories. As I get older I think more about my calorie intake, I’m lucky I have always been relatively slim and since my mid 20’s have exercised pretty regular which has helped keep me that way. Prior to that however it could have been so very different. And one incident probably helped shape me more than any other.

the sight of a grown man stooped fixing a puncture fills me with hope

I was working in a deadbeat job and partying probably a bit too hard when I received a killer put down. I was described as being “puffy with the drink” now this smarted somewhat on two counts. Firstly I was and the truth does more often than not hurt, secondly, it was delivered by an out of condition, world hating Goth bitch who had more than her own fair share of ‘issues’ to sort out. However in this instance I am prepared to forgive but not forget, though I shrugged it off at the time it hit me quite hard. The same year I bought my first mtb and the rest as they say is history.

So back in the restaurant, I’m pondering my waist, my legs, my lungs, my puny arms and more importantly my mortality. I’m creeping up on 50 and the stats for Scottish men ain’t that good. I figure I got a good 10-15 years in me and then it will probably slide into a more serious state of decay. I am torn between doing my damnedest to make the most of it and keep my body and mind in shape or just blow my brain to pieces. Again I look at the folks eating and drinking, is this it?

To be continued.

jazz

2011-07-15T07:13:00.000Z

Modern Jazz from Europe (April 2011 list) by Blast Kid The Jazz Kid on Mixcloud

lately I been riding my bikes, a bit.

2011-05-24T20:17:00.000Z

this evenings ride

2011-04-20T20:24:00.000Z

lovely little evening ride, lots of tarmac like the below,

loving the new roadster.

200 days till cross season

2011-03-15T22:46:00.000Z

if I don't ride in it, I don't ride

2011-03-12T07:24:00.000Z

Spring took a cruel twist this week, with limited time to ride, yesterday I found myself staring at a winter landscape once more, I could have wept having made the effort to get up early to squeeze a ride out of a weekday. So what's a guy to do? I had to man the fuck up and get on with it. As time was of the essence I choose an on/off route and took the cross bike (March and the cross bike still isn't hung up!) the first thing that struck me as I climbed away from the house was that it wasn't as cold, this was good, the winter was harsh to say the least but this was much fresher, I'm guessing around zero degrees at most. The snowy roads looked like they were going to be a liability but the Maxxis Raze tyres seemed to cut through the white stuff and find black stuff to hang onto, so my confidence grew. The first tarmac descent started gingerly but then having switched off the "safety first" button, I eased off the anchors and cranked up the gears, brilliant. The sound of the cross tyres cutting through the snow at an ever increasing speed had already made the ride worthwhile.
Off road was a different proposition, the lack of real low temperatures had left the fire roads soft but white, like semolina, where you can't see the lumps until your eating them, that was hard work but hard work as we all know has its rewards and again once pointing the bike downwards despite the minimal braking induced face aching smiles. More tarmac and this time deeper snow but with only a couple of minor slips I was really starting to enjoy myself. Most of the singletrack is protected by trees so it all rode sublimely with the occasional snow pocket around the corner to catch me out. Once home I found it hard not to keep smiling to myself for the rest of the day. This little ride turned into probably my most enjoyable ride of the year, so glad to have mad the effort.

brakes were worked hard

tarmac not pictured

heavenly singletrack

it was a day for happy glasses

despite the snow, this is pouring sunshine on me

2011-03-09T06:57:00.001Z

sudanese vintage soul.

this has cheered me right up

2011-03-08T09:54:00.003Z

thanks to Geeta Dayal for highlighting this.

when will spring arrive?

2011-02-23T07:07:00.000Z

I'm turning into a grumpy old man

Ther can't be many skate films out there with an Elton john soundtrack, love the sound of the wheels.

Smell the Summer.

still cold

2011-02-07T06:52:00.000Z

john barry RIP

2011-02-01T05:55:00.000Z

goodbye January

2011-01-31T06:59:00.000Z

it's good to be writing about riding my bike, not so long ago it felt like a it may never happen again, that may sound like the drama queen speaking but as anyone who has ever had an enforced lay-off will know, time passes slow.

this winter has been harsh, it seemed to particularly gnaw at the ankles of my psyche. skulking out to the garage through knee deep snow, or 4 inch thick ice is a strength I never knew I could have. so to actually get out this weekend not once but twice was undoubtedly a great lifter of morale.

both days were icy and shitty, the cold air clung like a death veil and the sky stayed grey, not a brooding something about to happen grey but flat and lifeless.

ride one was a ride of necessity rather than anything else, I had to get to Perth to get my repaired car. greasy, icy, broken tarmac was what lay in store so without hesitation I reached for the trusty Signal.

ride two was an altogether more personal affair, road and offroad again on the Signal. the roads are a mess, the ravages of winter are going to leave the council scratching its head over it's already squeezed budget. off road everything is frozen still, fire roads are solid with only the most sun drenched showing any signs of thaw. the singletrack is faring better with most of the ice away on the low levels it made for some nice grippy riding.

goodbye January

morning

2011-01-25T07:27:00.002Z

a wee ride

2011-01-22T07:55:00.000Z

crisp leafy singletrack

old man overshadowed by an ancient man

sun comin to rest

cold sweats/the wrecking tool 3

2011-01-10T07:13:00.000Z

my job doesn't allow me to commute by bike, my doing by choosing to live where I do. so this morning I decided to commute, up early and some easy spinning on the rollers. breakfast now and then into the car. conceptually I quite like this, darkness and minus 5 outside, sweaty and cold in the garage. now showered and eating my rice cakes and peanut butter and big mug of coffee, I feel pretty damn smug. I can't see me managing this every morning but as a way of squeezing a ride out of the traditionally non riding Monday it might just work.

have a great week.

By the Riverside ((Appleblim & Komonazmuk Remix) 7:48 Harmonia & Eno '76

Don't Stop The Music 7:02 Bits & Pieces

Hallo gallo 10:04 Neu!

I'm Alive 3:45 Electric Light Orchestra

Round and Round and Round 1:39 Broadcast & The Focus Group

Seven Days 4:02 Vivien Goldman

Too Many Troubles 3:33 The Dixie Hummingbirds

Two-Headed Boy Part 2 5:13 Neutral Milk Hotel

Up In The North 2:22 The Fiery Furnaces

Yakety Yak (58) 1:52 The Coasters

Souls Like the Wheels 4:39 The Avett Brothers

Come Rain or Come Shine 3:40 Ray Charles

the wrecking tool 2

2011-01-09T20:14:00.004Z

Well, my second day of the rollers, strange sensation at times it felt harder and at other times it felt easier, so much easier. another eclectic mix for tonight, loved every track tonight, really enjoyed the Dixie Hummingbirds, Wreckless Eric and the Pop Group as part of my workout. The rest of the day was wrapped around walking dogs, chopping wood, eating fine food, entertaining visitors, shovelling snow and taking boots on and off. Another sprinkling of snow hasn't helped.

This week has been a bit of a mine field for emotions and anxiety, I had both a Gastroscopy and and Colonoscopy both of which revealed nothing we didn't know, this was welcome news as it set my mind at ease knowing I didn't have something horrific going on inside, all things considered its been good week and equally good to turn some pedals.

Nothing 4 8:46 Moritz Von Oswald Trio

Oh Comely 8:18 Neutral Milk Hotel

An Old Man's Dream 2:26 The Red Krayola

Police and Thieves 3:54 Junior Murvin

Quite Disappointing 2:12 999

Reason To Believe 4:10 Rod Stewart

Slavin' Away 2:58 The Fiery Furnaces

Snowgirl 3:20 The Pop Group

A spectacle 5:40 CAN

Stack Shot Billy 3:22 The Black Keys

Standing On the Highway 2:58 The Dixie Hummingbirds

(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding 3:32 Brinsley Schwarz

Whole Wide World 2:59 Wreckless Eric

Wolfman Jack Intro / You're So Fine 3:18 The Chambers Brothers

Yesterday Man 3:13 Robert Wyatt

the wrecking tool

2011-01-08T08:42:00.001Z

managed an hour on the rollers today, the first hour I have done for some time, also the first hour riding this year. I would be loathe to say I 'enjoyed' it but after about 20 minutes I did get into it. I was helped along by sub sub zero temperatures and a pretty eclectic playlist. anyway it's a start

1. Angel Feat Dwele / Miguel Atwood-Ferguson 7:12
2. Anytime At All / The Fairies 2:17
3. Auf dem schwarzen canal / Conrad Schnitzler 3:13
4. Bad Weather / The Supremes 3:18
5. Came a Long Way / Heartless Bastards 5:53
6. Driving Me Backwards / Brian Eno 5:12
7. Genius Of Love / Tom Tom Club 5:38
8. I Want More / CAN 3:31
9. I'm Straight / The Modern Lovers 4:19
10. Isabel / Arthur Verocai 3:52
11. Lilac Wine / The Cinematic Orchestra 3:49
12. Look At the Sky (Rob McVey Version) / Ulrich Schnauss 5:45
13. Mother Earth / Memphis Slim 2:44
14. Murder In the City / The Avett Brothers 3:14
15. Nibelungen / Nico 2:44

I live in hope

2011-01-04T15:46:00.000Z

another year and we are mostly all still here.
lets hope 2011 turns out to be a peaceful year, we can but hope.

ageing process

2010-12-16T08:58:00.000Z

recently I've found myself tucking my tshirt in

beardy fashion in norway on a bike

2010-12-15T19:52:00.000Z

30 Century Man from Antony Crook on Vimeo.

alcohol part 2

2010-11-21T07:32:00.001Z

By the time I reached my teens alcohol was pretty rooted in my world. Don’t misunderstand this, I wasn’t drinking heavily but it was everywhere I looked. Turning 14/15 I guess was when it started to creep a little more into stuff I did. At this time around 78-79 I had became disillusioned with education and was exploring music and the associated subcultures. Along with mates we would regularly head into Glasgow to go to a gig and have a few pints in the pub, I can only remember being asked for ID twice during this entire period and once was at an off license with a cagoule over my school blazer! One Christmas I remember getting a home brew kit from my parents, at the time I didn’t think much of it but when I think back I must only have been 15 at best. Before you get completely the wrong idea, my parents are good, honest hard working folk, I never once came home to find them unconscious in an alcho-coma. There was always a good meal on the table and we were dressed well and clean as was the house, like I said good honest folk. But giving a teenager a home brew kit?

As school became less of an interest and the bottle of Merrydown at weekends became more of one, consequently I left before I should’ve with not a lot to show for it. But now I was loose in the world hanging out with mostly older and ‘wiser’ peers, the real damage could begin. Through most of this time I was either unemployed or had pretty crap jobs, the sort of ‘gainful’ employment that grinds you into paste mon-fri then you drink your way through the weekend to forget how mundane your life is and repeat the process the following Monday.

That was the format was the coming years, you drank your wages over the weekend and had nothing to show for it the following week. Pretty sure this still goes on, it quickly becomes a cycle that is pretty damn hard to step out of, never quite earning enough to step out the trap. Heading to my mid 20’s that was my life, then one day aged 24, I bought my first adult bicycle. I would be lying if I said my life changed that day but some seeds were certainly planted. For one thing it gave me an outlet to exercise that had been devoid from life since secondary school. At the time it did feel quite liberating, I never rode particularly far, maybe 50 miles was the furthest I ever rode on that bike but it had mudguards, a rack and lights, I did feel naively I was changing the world.

a very happy place

2010-11-17T07:20:00.000Z

alcohol part 1

2010-11-13T07:28:00.003Z

I was born and raised in Lanarkshire, once the heart of industrial Scotland, now a hotbed of substance dependency and unemployment. Initially we lived in a traditional red sandstone tenement in front of the family scrap yard. From the front close I remember another scrap yard across the road and a factory that made chains, this always fascinated me, huge coils of chain for ships anchors lay in their yard, this was Industry. The people were hardy, the men worked long hard and physical hours, and to a toddler all seemed like giants. At the end of the day they drank. The women folk held together the family the house and what was left to the weekly budget.

We were never poor but never had money to throw around, the fluctuating demand for scrap metal meant a fluctuating income. But scrap meant money, it was recycling on a colossal scale feeding the steel plants at Ravenscraig and Gartcosh. In the summer I used to go out in the trucks and we would drive into these mammoth plants where giant furnaces melted away our tiny loads. Colossal cranes with magnets could easily have lifted us up and thrown us into the fire, which might have well as been the bowels of the earth. Sadly these great industrial behemoths are gone along with the livelihoods and communities they supported.

Alcohol was always around, after work the men would drink from brightly coloured cans of beer, McEwans Pale Ale, Tennants Export or the workers favourite Tennants Lager. These cans intrigued me and still do, the lure and promise of something exotic, I mean India Pale Ale? My parents too would have a drink after the working day. A beer, whisky or maybe a brandy if things were going well, it was just the way, everyone did the same. My earliest alcohol memory is the smell of brandy (I think) from my mother as she put us to bed. No one thought bad of it.

Now some 40 odd years later I find myself thinking a lot about alcohol, I cant remember a time of my life where socially and some may say antisocially it wasn’t at the centre of everything I had done, going for a pint, out to a club, meal, the cinema, whatever, there always seemed to be a reason to incorporate a drink into life. Something has changed though, standing in a supermarket looking at the 2 bays of wholefoods and the three aisles of alcohol makes me feel somewhat uneasy, where are we heading with this?

a picture can=a lot of words

2010-11-13T06:40:00.004Z

grapes of wrath

2010-11-12T07:43:00.002Z

Grapes of Wrath.

It’s been a week since my little unconscious episode, 7 whole days. Obviously I visited the Docs and sought some professional advice, I needed to know if I was going to keel over and meet the grim reaper on my way to hell or if I would indeed see another spring. The docs was a good move, on one hand I was informed I was in very good physical shape, nice to hear that from a medical professional but the downside that didn’t explain what had happened. Blood tests had to be taken and were sent to be tested. Full credit to the NHS, the results were delivered the next day, I hear so many bad things about the NHS but yet have only good experience. Anyway, the results showed that I was anaemic, but why. In a nutshell my red blood cell count was down by 35% which is quite a lot I am led to believe. It certainly explained a lot of things over the last few months, not only the fainting, tiredness, lack of concentration, sore heads, irritability, so this was good. But why?

Nobby Stiles.

After much more examination it was concluded that blood loss from bleeding haemorrhoids was to blame, something that both shocked and I guess also made perfect sense to me. I can’t remember when I first realised I had issues with the roids but it was a long time ago (fighting on the post punk barricades perhaps, though it wasn’t called post punk then), probably late teens. For the 6 or 7 years I was veggie/vegan it wasn’t an issue and then it crept back when I reintroduced meat into my diet, the exact date of which I cannot remember. While sparing the details they seem to be aggravated by certain foodstuffs, meat and *alcohol seem to be the two biggest enemies also dehydration doesn’t favour a comfortable seat. So now I am on some heavy ferrous fumarate dosage to pump up my iron and red cell count.

Duke of Argyll’s

Since getting the diagnosis and establishing a course of action it does feel like an immense weight has been lifted from my shoulders, without sounding like a drama queen about the whole episode it was a wake up call I probably deserved, a change of lifestyle was needed. And so we will see what the next months bring. From a cycling perspective, no cross racing for me this year, though I do intend to start some gentle leg turning on the rollers this weekend. This is obviously crap but hopefully it will result in a stronger more focussed me at the end of the treatment. Plans are afoot for some big rides next year, the rest of this year is getting back to square one.

A big thanks for all the kind words received.

*Alcohol deserves a posting on its own and in time it will get one.

And to finish, here's a cool video with sublime electronic music attached.

scared

2010-11-06T21:36:00.000Z

Today I got scared. I left the house early for a wee morning ride on the road bike, I hadn’t ridden for nearly 3 weeks, a combination of work and a cold/chest infection that wouldn’t shake off. A wee ride was what I needed to clear the tubes and get my sanity back. The morning was cold, really low freezing fog was filling the glen which was beautiful but very cold. I wrapped up extra cautious; I knew I wasn’t going to be working too hard so I wanted to keep warm. I set off and straight into the climb that leaves the house. I was labouring, my chest was ripping apart and huge spoonfuls of phlegm were being released, with every discharge my chest definitely felt better which was good, my hands however had started to get very cold.

Initially I didn’t worry too much about my hands, the rest of me felt pretty cozy and I was aware that as I worked out and my circulation got a move on they would come good, this felt different though. I stopped and removed gloves after only about a mile or two. I blew on my hands in the gloves rubbed hands jumped up and down and got going again. By now I had climbed above the fog and the suns rays were warming and lifting my spirits, the road though was dampening them. Ice and frozen leafy tarmac was what lay ahead, I could feel the tension rising in my body waiting for the inevitable fall. I ploughed on convinced that as I warmed and the sun rose it would all come good.

The first and only downhill section of note met me at around 6 miles, my hands now were devoid of feeling and my head was quickly unravelling on the precarious road surface, gingerly I made my way down to meet the main road deciding at the bottom I would stop again to try and get some heat in my hands. I stopped, got off the bike and was overcome by a sense of anxiety and nausea, leaning against a sign post I tried to control my breathing and awaited vomiting, it never came. I felt terrible, cold and alone and only 6 or 7 miles from home.

Common sense took over and I turned back following the cycle path home which was flatter and would be easier cycling, after about a mile a tension so tight in my neck and shoulders made the bike unbearable, I reached a small stone bridge and once more dismounted and leant on the bridge, head swirling violently now I couldn’t feel my hands. I looked up and saw a car coming to the gate of a private road.

The next thing I remember I was getting up off the ground, I felt light and warm like coming out of deep sleep, the car now was the other side of the gate but stationary, its passengers staring at me. I waved and they flashed their lights and drove on. I got on the bike and rode, still feeling the warmth of sleep. Within minutes though the shivers started, I was only some 3 miles from home and my legs were shivering uncontrollably, I looked at my legs, the left covered in dirt from the fall, what fall? I thought to myself, noticing the dirt all down my jacket too. I made it up the final climb and got on the homeward straight barely remembering any of it. The last descent to the house I was petrified to let go of the brakes, I just needed to get home in one piece.

Finally the turn to the house appeared I grabbed at overshoes to get them off I couldn’t feel the buckle on my helmet and had to get help, I headed straight into bed and there I tried to piece together what had happened. Fed with high protein food and pints of ginger and honey tea I slowly regained temperature and composure, mind still racing though.

Now hours after it I am assuming for whatever reason I fainted, I’m pretty certain it wasn’t for long but I’ve never fainted before so it left me kinda spooked. I have a bruised knee and a cricked neck probably a result of the impact that my helmet is showing on the left hand side. All day I have had a mighty headache and hunger and have struggled to keep warm.

A visit to the docs is in order I think.

remount

2010-10-31T22:23:00.000Z

a draft of an idea.

remount from chris Duncan on Vimeo.

the road

2010-10-30T07:55:00.000Z

lost control

2010-10-14T05:34:00.000Z

Playdate Bike Club from Playdate Bike Club on Vimeo.

the year is careering to a climax.

hell yeah

2010-10-04T05:30:00.000Z

off to london for a week.

bright lights.

streets paved with gold

etc.

KNOCKTOBER

2010-09-28T22:10:00.000Z

The last week of September is shaping up to be a monumental let down, in fact close to a terminal let down. It started on Monday morning when I found myself face to face with a blacked out Golf on my side of the road on a blind corner. No surprises this all took place on the ‘end to enders’ favourite route the A9 around Dunkeld. I have never been so grateful for driving a decent car and also for fitting new tyres on Friday. Instinct kicked in and somehow I watched the Golf squeeze between me and the truck it was overtaking, while I made jiggy with the hard shoulder and verge. I was shocked at how rapid the whole thing had happened and passed and also the sense of calm that filled me afterwards.

October isn’t shaping much better, though I’ve had my fill of near things on the road. A fairly big oversight by me means the month has been halved as I will be attending two bike shows. No harm in that but I immediately lose two cross races and then leaves only two free weekends to fulfil my normal life and family, let alone it’s two weeks where riding bikes will be out of the question, damn. That’s a bad start to a season that I am already unprepared for! So what can I salvage?

What indeed, my riding has not been going to plan, though I have been enjoying it when I get onto it and I feel reasonably good most of the time, it’s just not regular enough. I will now stop whining about it and do my darndest to ride more often.

Its not all doom and gloom though, been messing around with my diet, cutting back on things that I feel might be slowing me down, mentally, physically and biologically. So I’ve hacked the living daylights out of my bread, meat and alcohol intake and in a short space of time have lost close to a stone and a half without upping the exercise regime. Its interesting how easy it was, hopefully it isn’t all muscle mass? It’s not been without it’s ‘issues’ though, my moods have been like a pendulum and my sleep has been erratic to say the least but it seems to be levelling out and I am feeling clearer in my head and my body seems to be functioning close to normal, all good. The important thing is, I haven’t actually given anything up, I’m not living like a monk. I had to get measured up at work as I am used as a size model and I have lost 5cm off my chest and 4 off my waist? That sounds like a lot to me considering I haven’t changed my lifestyle. I should be writing a book about this, are diet books still big money makers?

Velo Club Moulin is still banging away at the races and I feel so lucky to know such a great bunch of folks. I need to get my finger out and up the gearing and take it to the next level. Still plenty of ideas in the tank for taking it into the future, just need to get them out the idea tank. The good thing is it still feels very fresh, keep banging the drum.

So that’s kinda where I am at, so why the hell do I feel so disillusioned?

I could eat more and get fat?

I could drink more and get a problem?

I could ride more and probably not enjoy it.

It feels like something is missing, I can’t put my finger on it but I suspect age is a factor. I seem to get increasingly angry at the world, at the speed of everything, at the ugliness of the world. Scotland is not a good country to have these feelings, everywhere I look there is a fat fucker pushing a buggy with a fag in one hand a case of Tennents Lager in the parcel tray. It’s an ugly desperate place.

On a plus I have discovered Flat Soya White, my new favourite coffee style.

I discovered I can’t time trial.

I discovered I am happy.

I discovered I am sad.

I already knew I am lucky.

the highlights of my day, Tuesday 21st Sept.

2010-09-22T07:23:00.000Z

crazy paving

a dog called Karen

you look different every time

2010-09-21T05:21:00.000Z

in another life. . . . . . .

2010-09-02T06:47:00.002Z

Riding The Long White Cloud - Trailer from friendlyfire on Vimeo.

1989

2010-08-31T18:05:00.002Z

1989 changed my life and many more.

Laurent Fignon, RIP, a great and wholly stylish rider.

a nice photo tribute to the man here the sport needs more like him.

remember summer

2010-08-23T19:36:00.000Z

Euros in Schoolyards from Jason Rogers on Vimeo.

the archive

2010-08-20T20:37:00.000Z

incredible film of an incredible man, still married too!

morning

2010-08-18T07:24:00.000Z

riding to get somewhere

2010-08-17T06:01:00.000Z

It's been a while since I rode to get somewhere, more often than not I ride to get away from somewhere or to escape something but this weekend I had a rare opportunity to ride somewhere, to actually ride somewhere, point A to point B. The point A in question was roughly Gilwern, and point B, Bristol. Not a huge ride but all new roads for me which made it kinda exciting and fresh. The route started on the Tumble, which is an allegedly feared climb in race circles, to be fair in a race scenario it would be pretty horrid but for an easy cycle it was pretty nice, fantastic views from the top and an ever present broody sky. My route took me on as many B and unclassified roads as I could squeeze into it, and some of them were truly inspiring. Like the lane from Blaenavon to the A4042, which felt like it was being crushed between the boughs of ancient trees, determined to claim their space. And the great meandering road from Usk to Chepstow through lush countryside.
The Bristol channel swiflty arrived and everything became more hurried and concrete, but it surprised me just how close to Bristol you can get on country lanes. Once there it was down to the serious business of catching up with old friends, drinking cider and eating a vast plate of food.
Good times.

03/08/2010

2010-08-04T16:41:00.000Z

well its sunday

2010-08-01T15:31:00.001Z

been sleeping again.

2010-07-31T06:34:00.000Z

Nowness  TWMP Pegoretti

twisted blue

2010-07-20T21:11:00.000Z

what would Djamolidine have done?

2010-07-16T11:07:00.003Z

The Tashkent Terror

rainbows

2010-07-15T10:42:00.001Z

rain go away

cross is coming

2010-07-10T10:58:00.000Z

really nice little movie from Signal Cycles courtesy of Benji Wagner I think a ride is in order.

Stufferation

2010-07-01T15:47:00.000Z

Distraction:Consume:Sensorium

Been neglecting the blog of recent, a lot going on it seems all the time and a lot of stuff.

I’m not sure at what point stuff became important to me, I remember I had (have) a collection of 70’s Corgi Formula 1 cars that had to get put back in their boxes, I enjoyed looking at them in their boxes as much as I enjoyed playing with them a couple of years later I had a little Honda Monkey bike, this I worshiped, I tore around the yard on it like I ruled the roost, I didn’t rule any roost but the freedom and adrenaline that little bike gave me was second to none.

Much later I would discover skateboards and still have that G&S Fibreflex that I love so dearly but alongside this I found music.

Music opened my senses to art, politics, design, fashion, ethnic diversity, food, sport!

100 climbs

I love this little book, I need not say much more than that, I travel with work and have started looking for climbs close to where I am, I dunno maybe it appeals to the bird watcher within me. Concisely written, enough details to make it valuable and pocket sized, this is a great concept. In my head, I already envisage the Scottish Volume, maybe I should write it? All in all, of the rides I have undertaken that are contained in the book the description is pretty fair. Nuff said, go buy your own copy.

Shirts

It’s summer I buy shirts and think my life will change forever, when in reality I wear shirts for a couple of months, nothing changes and the same thing happens next season. Green is the colour.

Boneshaker

I know nothing of this, I was drawn to the cover, which if you have ever worked in a bike shop or had a thoroughly unhealthy obsession with bicycles you should be drawn to, handlebars held on a chipboard by long screws, we all know this. Inside, it’s got all the hallmarks of something offering something but tragically delivering not a lot. But hey its first issue, a time to establish the design ground rules and mark out your territory, I will buy the 2^nd issue. A tip of the hat to production value, this is a ten bob fanzine in a 5 quid wrapper; hence I guess the £4 price ticket. Must do better but more appealing than most of the competition.

waxpoetics 41

Now this is a weakness, having followed it since its first issue, I now feel this is a part of me, I guess if I am rational this is the hook that the educated publishers gameplan involves. Waxpoetic though, remains a stalwart in its field. Always informative and always beautifully executed, bringing info on great sounds and even greater records from around the world. I hope it continues, I can’t believe I have made it to 41 issues of a publication without missing one.

tour serious

2010-06-09T06:55:00.001Z

Tour Series is proving to be an interesting distraction in many ways, the racing is furious, a tip of the hat to all the guys who are hanging in there. Plain and simple it looks hard.

meanwhile the music goes on and on and on and on.

dj cable plenty more over here

death of the record store

training or riding?

2010-06-01T06:54:00.000Z

I hadn't really intended to do such a long ride, but sometimes when the weather is right and your legs feel in a reasonable shape you just gotta keep it turning. Bank holiday weekend chores and weather had conspired to keep me busy or indoors but when monday showed a clear sky I had no option, a ride was on the cards. The biggest local ride of the year for me at 127km, ok not a ball buster but a reasonable amount of climbing and super sunny/windy conditions meant there was no rest for the duration.

It got me thinking though when does riding become training and vice versa, here I was essentially having a break from the everyday but working hard into the bargain, I'm not training for anything and have no goals set but still it felt good to just get out and unleash some hard miles onto the legs. Perhaps we get too bogged down in thinking about these targets and forget about the sheer beauty of just riding, be it hard or otherwise. The synergy of the human and the machine, I don't want to get all poncy and romantic here but the bicycle really is an incredible machine that can stimulate both physically and mentally, we must never forget that.

Whatever, I know I need to get some more of these under my belt it really was a blistering ride over some of my favourite roads.

come back summer i forgive you

2010-05-25T21:19:00.000Z

went for a ride in Hamsterley Forest tonight, it was pretty damn cold, I say forest but once out of the cozy confines of the 'recreational' area it kinda looks devastated. the frustration didn't stop there, I had a very bad time with my SS, it never seemed to be the 'right' gear, mostly too low and occasionally to high. a lot of fire road cartoon spinning action, which for once I wasn't moaning about as it was bloody freezing.

outside a peacock cries, seriously.

awesome

2010-05-23T07:14:00.000Z

awesome

blank generation

2010-05-19T21:45:00.001Z

"life's about as wonderful as a tramp being found dead in the road"
Mark Perry, ATV.

that was the weekend

2010-05-19T08:58:00.000Z

it's taken me a while to recover and I think I am nearly there, it all passed in a kinda blur

modernity

2010-05-17T22:34:00.000Z

things that make me go . . . .

2010-05-13T09:15:00.001Z

road times

2010-05-12T07:55:00.001Z

interplanetary hyperspace

the journey never ends

2010-05-08T08:18:00.000Z

Whilst up in Kyle I went out on an evening recovery ride with Kev and Matt, stumbled across this decaying road roller, a lumbering chunk of rusting metal near the end of a dead end road surrounded by bucolic splendour.
I wanted to know the story of this machine, how it got there, when it got there and when it finally stopped rolling.
Huber

I've been working

2010-05-01T20:18:00.000Z

May already, it only feels like 5 minutes since I cleaned my Sidi's after the Mull SCX, now Spring is breathing it's heady breath and the prospect of summer is on my mind. It's been a mighty big change and now we are in the house, it deserves a posting all of it's own but what remains to be said it it is pretty damn fine, plenty still to do but the overall it is extremely comfortable, looking forward to settling in over the summer.
And settling in begins with man making fire, been trying to chop lots of wood before the midges arrive as hanging round the saw horse with a cloud of the evil decepticons munching away at me is not my idea of fun. So I bought a new saw!

Having researched chainsaws and really not been very impressed with what I found, I then had to find out what the alternatives were, and there wasn't many. fortunately I stumbled across, E. Garlick & Sons in Sheffield. wow what a great piece of kit, handmade in the UK, it is a thing of great beauty. In use as you might expect from a 3ft Crosscut it's pretty hard work but it's a very satisfying kinda work. I've got a stack of wood to get through to have any chance of having enough ready for winter and I'm relishing the thought of it in a masochistic sort of a way.
As long as I can cut more than we burn then I think I am on the right track.

Elsewhere there is plenty happening, been drifting slowly back onto my Curtis, my love hate relationship with mountain biking continues and it seems I am back in love. I remain disturbingly out of shape though but with a 5 days of riding up the west coast ahead hopefully I can salvage enough fitness to start enjoying it again. hopefully there will be enough reception up there to update the blog with some tall tales of 'epic' riding.

until then

sign of the times

2010-04-21T06:03:00.000Z

time just slips on by

2010-04-11T06:50:00.002Z

modern life.

2010-02-16T20:09:00.000Z

I'm sorry but I love this.

and another thing

2010-02-11T08:05:00.003Z

here

I've got issues

2010-02-11T07:58:00.000Z

15 vs. 16

Rouleur is now firmly established which for a £9 journal (it would be wrong to call it a magazine) is no mean feat. It consistently has delivered a high quality of writing, photography and design, packed into its hundred plus pages. And it has successfully kept advertising to a minimum and a mostly fitting aesthetic. Issues 15 and 16 seemed to arrive in fairly close succession, either side of the winter hols, great timing as it’s a time when I generally need a little uplifting reading as the winter traditionally shuts down my riding regime and this year was no exception.
15. A glorious cyclocross cover and photo laden feature inside was a surprise and an indicator of just how popular cross is becoming, the rest of the issue didn’t disappoint either, the Jeremy Hunt interview was an insight into a pro cyclists life the likes of which we don’t get much in the mainstream press. Next up the Gios story, what a great story too, damn I want a Gios bike purely off the back of reading that feature. Then the cross feature, a carefully constructed photo journo through this bastard son of a sport, the photography inspired to the point explaining the sport to an innocent bystander without the use of smart captioning. A Reynolds feature, with some great sjots of what looks like an antiquated factory huge grimy machines that squeeze and form tubes so we can ride skinny tubed bikes, glorious. And fittingly the last feature on the Lantern Rouge, the guy at the end of the race that most of us can relate to, great reading and photography, nuff said.
16. Dropped into the mailbox with a healthy thud, it’s pop art cover, screamed out of the polythene wrapper. The screaming pink Z on the cover wasn’t there by accident, a great history feature on the classic jersey and riders it adorned is without a doubt the saving grace of this issue. Elsewhere we are treated to a feature on Shimano which neither inspires, informs or stimulates with its pictures of a factory that could be making anything to be fair, I’m sure it was a very insightful trip and who wouldn’t take a tour of the Shimano plant? The Tour of California provides the photo story and a disappointing story it is. I like the ToC, it’s hard, the weather has been foul, it’s photogenic (what’s not to like a bout the pro peloton riding over the Golden Gate bridge?) this feature on the other hand failed to deliver, the snapshot gallery was in places clumsy and in others pointless, does it deliver the true picture of the race? In the 47 pages that this feature takes (yes that’s 36% or £3.24 if you prefer) it doesn’t make me want to ride my bike, which is a big failing. A pretty funny cartoon strip follows though on the 1989 battle between Fignon and Lemond, it’s a breath of fresh air after the ‘art’ of the California piece. The issue is saved by a great interview with Willy Balmat, chef extraordinaire and a pretty interesting guy into the bargain, it’s the sort of insight I expect from Rouleur.
Overall, 16 is probably (for me) the most disappointing issue to date, I hope this isn’t a sign and it’s just that difficult 16th issue thing.

Elsewhere, I’ve been sneaking some sessions on the rollers but time has really been limited to late nights, which then upsets sleep and digestion and generally making me grumpy and miserable. The house is nearly finished which should help alleviate this misery. I’ve finally got a new mech for the cross bike though as of yet I haven’t fitted it.
The new Gil Scott Heron album is out and I will endeavour to do it justice in a post when I get chance to really absorb it, but it’s good, can’t wait for the live show in April.
I’ve got busy month ahead with both work and the house so not much else to report.

barely breaking even

2010-01-29T06:46:00.001Z

forgot how much I love this, the shizz

me and the devil

2010-01-20T20:05:00.001Z

the most eagerly awaited album for years.
if this track is anything to go by it will have been worth the wait.

somnambulism

2010-01-13T17:22:00.003Z

wow 2010.

how did that happen?

feels like I been asleep for months.

getting a burning to ride my bike and put some hurt into my legs, getting a burning to be reunited with my records too, might treat the house to some new cartridges to liven up the sound. the house progress has been stalled slightly thanks to our very winter. but progress is being made which is good.
cross season came and went in a blur of broken mechs and tardy results, must try harder. 3 Peaks this year to toughen me ready for the onslaught.
more social rides is something I should do too

anyway the shakey wakey up starts here with some fine death jazz from japan

happy new year

2010-01-12T19:18:00.000Z

season is over

2009-12-17T08:34:00.000Z

time to start work on next year.

broken but repairable

2009-11-30T17:35:00.012Z

wow what a cool 7 days, first up SCX at Dundee, that race was a blast, mud, off camber, velodrome, lots of noise and finally riding my bike in anger. Then another full on week with work, damn, we are so busy, it's great but hard. a quick saturday and bang straight into sundays SCX at Irvine, what a course, hats off to Walkers Cycling awesome links based course was super hard, super cold and super fun, can't say I've enjoyed a cross race this much for many years, even with lousy fitness I had such a cool time on my bike, just amazing. (note to self, must get fitter) and now I am in Belfast on super crisp winters day, looking forward to getting home for a couple of days off.

the good times are killing me, but what a great way to go.

pic by Andy Wardman.

it's been a long week

2009-11-26T23:34:00.002Z

time to live,

Irvine CX this weekend, would be good to hear from anyone out there using carbon rims with cantilevers, what brake pads? and where? and do they work?

tales from the sideboard

2009-11-26T20:14:00.003Z

winter still life no.1

coffee gold

2009-11-18T08:08:00.000Z

unseason

2009-11-16T06:11:00.010Z

mid November already, where has it gone?
last weekends new bike mishap now seems like a distant nightmare, a mangled mech hanger, an exploded Chorus mech and a chain tying the whole sordid shebang together, I'm over it. the real tragedy was the fact it spoiled a bloody good ride, filthy, wet, hard and exactly the tonic both my mental and physical self was needing, that was the big annoyance.
4 SCX races left and the champs, is it worth it?
this will be written off as a bad riding year for sure, and that's bad not meaning good, fortunately lots of other good stuff has happened so maybe it's a kharma thang, the balance of my life held in place by how much I ride my bike, if this is the case then next year is going to be a big riding year.
i need to rediscover mountain biking but don't know where to look, the bikes are so far fetched and expensive, I'll keep looking. and then there is the preparation, it seems to take ages to get out on a mtb ride and I have good riding on my doorstep, maybe I need a bike break full stop? a holiday perhaps?
the house is taking shape, this of course will be the single biggest life enhancing project I have ever been involved in, that said for the most part I am but a bystander. it'll be good emptying all our boxes of stuff into it though, I'm looking ofrward to unpacking and weeks and weeks of ebay and charity shop frenzy in a valiant attempt to declutter.
been listening to a lot of music mostly in the car and some via the technology of the the podcast, now I have to think about it though; Hospital Records podcast, Fever Ray, Spiritual Jazz, Savath and Savalas, Charlie Mingus, War, The Fiery Furnaces, the list goes on. The randomness of my listening these days in fact is pretty interesting.
the coffee kicks in
laters

signal

2009-10-16T06:55:00.002Z

curvy stays

heavy axe, man

2009-10-01T21:08:00.005Z

September was a long month, October isn't looking like a smooth journey but a week off mid month is certainly something to look forward to. The late arrival of my cross frame has put a hold on any sort of cross season to talk of, though it neatly coincides with rubbish fitness and an overwhelming sense of lethargy, that said I am really stoked about the team we got a real good bunch of riders kicking out some rides all round, beautiful people, beautiful rides.
So anyway I am here in a Death Lodge somewhere in the north of Engerlund perusing the interweb looking for something, just what it is I think I will find in there I dunno but I look, and I find, some geezer who has hooked up some David Axelrod to some Betty page studio shots, as random as it gets but I kinda like it, not sure of it's political correctness but what the f...

Peace good people, enjoy cross season, it's short and sweet.

the builders are in

2009-09-30T21:37:00.001Z

health food/progress

2009-09-23T19:38:00.006Z

yeah you see right, 'suitable for vegetarians' life just got better, talking about life getting better;

it soon will,

working on some new ideas for fitness, racing and 2010, more to follow.

just watched the Hangover, drivel but pretty funny into the bargain.

also interesting is this! it's an fascinating if somewhat absurd concept but I am compelled to get a copy never the less, just how it will sound and hold up under repeated use, I think probably badly but I will give it a good workout in the name of science.

hieroglyphics

2009-09-11T06:30:00.005Z

been listening to that Brian Eno/David Byrne collaboration that came out last year, you know what i can't even remember what it's called and it's too much effort to go to the car to get it. anyway, i quite like it, there's something reassuringly nostalgic about Byrnes voice and he doesn't disappoint, but better than that is a return to writing pop music for Eno, like the before and after science era, it pops along with just the right amount of quirkiness to keep it interesting but not too much to file under self indulgent.
outwith that i am slowly catching up with my sleep and the realisation that cross season is a couple of weeks away, bah, no bike, no enthusiasm, no fitness, arrival of bike might change that. looking like a season in the shadows.
and don't even get me started about the football season.
coffee
more
coffee
more
coffee
more
coffee
more
coffee
more
coffee
more
coffee

euro meltdown

2009-09-09T05:40:00.005Z

Eurobike is over for another year, for the first time I actually got to have a fleeting snoop around the show, which was good and bad. I was surprised how little actually got me excited, maybe I am jaded maybe there really wasn't much to see. Talking to other regulars it certainly seemed that a lot of companies had held back this year, a bumper year next? Perhaps.
As usual there was little of cyclo cross interest, this always surprises me, coming as it does pre-season. Everyone of course has a cross bike but few actually go tot he trouble of speccing the thing with any understanding of the sport (50 tooth chainring anyone?) On the whole they were all pretty straightforward with similar alloy or carbon bikes with a plug in matching fork (the Stevens and Colnago being the best executed), some TRP brakes, white bar tape and saddle. The Parlee looked quite cute but again the spec was pretty much throw a groupset on it.

Germany continues to fascinate me, at some point I would love to spend longer exploring it, the quality of life seems to be pretty sorted with emphasis on health and wellbeing at the forefront. Bizarre considering how many of them still smoke and eating out is an experience that tests the British palette. But it would appear that they eat a fairly healthy diet outside the restaurant. Itis also a serious producer of food, the amount of fruit and veg they grow is quite impressive.