It might not look much but I know just how much thought and effort went into this on Holly's part. This is one she prepared earlier: when she was in her 'many colours' phase!
Friday, November 10, 2006
Holly Art
It might not look much but I know just how much thought and effort went into this on Holly's part. This is one she prepared earlier: when she was in her 'many colours' phase!
Holly: Art Explained
Seriously, I reckon Holly is a very good artist. She loves drawing and seems to really put a great deal of thought into the pictures she does. Her disability may limit her freedom of movement but it doesn't seem to stop her (at five years old) really wanting to express herself in this way. She's always really pleased with the results of these drawing sessions.
How we do it is I sit with her and give her choice of all the crayons (I bought some plastic coated ones which are perfect for her and she cannot snap them - she's a bit heavy handed) for the colour. Then I hold her hand and assist while she does the actual drawing – basically keeping her from losing her grip on the crayon. I also ask her which bit of the paper she wants to aim for – or she tells me if I’m doing something wrong.
She obviously has a limited range of ability but she can do sqiggles, lines, small circles or long sweeps and she tends to do just one of these things per drawing. She finishes each colour quickly, often not having done much at all with it, and moves on to the next choice. She’ll use 3 or 4 colours maximum per drawing and does not just scrawl randomly – she tries for instance not to overlap the colours and obvioulsy has a specific pattern in mind for each new piece of paper. She was all purple and oranges on the last session, with the odd splash of red, brown or black. That was all she used out of 15 coloured crayons. She is very decisive about when each one is finished too and never goes back to it. Given a sheet of A4 she only ever does enough to fit the frame size we've been using which has been 5 x 7 inches, and this goes for painting too: When she has the opportunity to splash paint round a large sheet of paper she always keeps her efforts neatly confined to a relatively small area.
Though there are many things which make me think “what if …” with Holly, this activity is one where I know she gets a lot of satisfaction from, especially when she sees the pictures in the frames. It’s a “look what I can do” thing I reckon.
I've quite a few of her efforts framed now and they are really good bits of work. I love them.
How we do it is I sit with her and give her choice of all the crayons (I bought some plastic coated ones which are perfect for her and she cannot snap them - she's a bit heavy handed) for the colour. Then I hold her hand and assist while she does the actual drawing – basically keeping her from losing her grip on the crayon. I also ask her which bit of the paper she wants to aim for – or she tells me if I’m doing something wrong.
She obviously has a limited range of ability but she can do sqiggles, lines, small circles or long sweeps and she tends to do just one of these things per drawing. She finishes each colour quickly, often not having done much at all with it, and moves on to the next choice. She’ll use 3 or 4 colours maximum per drawing and does not just scrawl randomly – she tries for instance not to overlap the colours and obvioulsy has a specific pattern in mind for each new piece of paper. She was all purple and oranges on the last session, with the odd splash of red, brown or black. That was all she used out of 15 coloured crayons. She is very decisive about when each one is finished too and never goes back to it. Given a sheet of A4 she only ever does enough to fit the frame size we've been using which has been 5 x 7 inches, and this goes for painting too: When she has the opportunity to splash paint round a large sheet of paper she always keeps her efforts neatly confined to a relatively small area.
Though there are many things which make me think “what if …” with Holly, this activity is one where I know she gets a lot of satisfaction from, especially when she sees the pictures in the frames. It’s a “look what I can do” thing I reckon.
I've quite a few of her efforts framed now and they are really good bits of work. I love them.
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
Life in the old dog
I did a mountain bike race at the weekend. This is the first time I have entered an official race for years and I've only done two before now. The first one was when I was Cardiff Uni in what must have been about 1992 and was at a course near Port Talbot. Seemed like a good idea at the time (as everyone else was entered for it) but it was just grim. It was a horrible rainy day and involved three laps of a hard course - something for which I just was not a) prepared and b) fit enough. I did finish, but was completely blown and practically hypothermic by the end and vowed never to race again.
The next one was not long after we moved to Leeds (1997 I think), near Pudsey at Tong Hall. Some of the guys we'd met biking locally were entering so I had a go. That one was pretty good actually and I did OK, but I was fitter by then.
This weekend's jaunt at Lightwater near Ripon looked like a decent event, the weather has been great, so I thought what the hell, turned up and entered on the day. There were a few others from the North Leeds group also signed up so it was a bit of a team atmosphere.
The course was 17 miles (3 laps) round the park grounds, undulating more than hilly. Lots of hardpack; a bit of tarmac; some great bits of quick singletrack; into and out of a quarry, and some grassy fields to cross. One or two cheeky technicalities and some short sharp drops and climbs gave it all some interest. 17 miles is maybe 90 minutes so therefore basically a continuous burn - an exercise in who's legs can last the longest?!
I was really pleased that I paced it well. I thought I'd gone off too hard on the first lap but settled in comfortably, stuck at my pace and just about managed to hold it until the end. I clocked 1:24:30 which put me 13th in the 80 strong Vets category, so I was pretty pleased with that.
Not bad at all. There's life in this old dog yet!
The next one was not long after we moved to Leeds (1997 I think), near Pudsey at Tong Hall. Some of the guys we'd met biking locally were entering so I had a go. That one was pretty good actually and I did OK, but I was fitter by then.
This weekend's jaunt at Lightwater near Ripon looked like a decent event, the weather has been great, so I thought what the hell, turned up and entered on the day. There were a few others from the North Leeds group also signed up so it was a bit of a team atmosphere.
The course was 17 miles (3 laps) round the park grounds, undulating more than hilly. Lots of hardpack; a bit of tarmac; some great bits of quick singletrack; into and out of a quarry, and some grassy fields to cross. One or two cheeky technicalities and some short sharp drops and climbs gave it all some interest. 17 miles is maybe 90 minutes so therefore basically a continuous burn - an exercise in who's legs can last the longest?!
I was really pleased that I paced it well. I thought I'd gone off too hard on the first lap but settled in comfortably, stuck at my pace and just about managed to hold it until the end. I clocked 1:24:30 which put me 13th in the 80 strong Vets category, so I was pretty pleased with that.
Not bad at all. There's life in this old dog yet!
Saturday, October 21, 2006
Pet Sounds
Current musical favourites chez (and voiture and iPod) Andy
The Feeling: Twelve Stops and Home. I bought this in HMV after hearing them play one track from it over the PA, and what a good decision it’s proved to be as it’s a very fine album indeed. I do like a band who can write good songs, and this is a whole CD full of great quality. It's very contemporary sounding, but there’s lots of old school references too: 10cc in particular, but definitely shades of Supertramp and I can almost hear Paul McCartney singing a couple of the tracks. Great stuff, and I am most pleased with my impulse buy.
Red Hot Chilli Peppers: Stadium Arcadium. Two Cds; 28 songs, which to be honest is a bit too much to take in so I’ve only really played disk one in the couple of weeks since I bought it. I’ve always enjoyed their stuff and with their last couple of albums they’ve settled down into writing great, catchy, loud, funky rock music and Stadium Arcadium is just that. More than anything these guys are a great BAND. Four musicians who gel as a unit in a unique fashion (rather like U2 in that way). Guitarist John Frusciante I think is a genius, both technically and as a song writer. To think that not so long ago this bloke had done so much drug taking that, amongst other things, all his teeth fell out it’s quite astonishing that he’s come back into the band and remained focused for them to produce their most successful string of albums to date. The Chilli Peppers are a band who are right on top of their game and who are an absolute pleasure to listen to.
The Tragically Hip: World Container. The Hip have been at this business 20 years now and still remain a wondrous Canadian secret. Canada’s most beloved band. I got to see them again in London in July and they as ever produced an electrifying performance, led by the verging on insane stage persona of singer Gord Downie. They have always been guaranteed live dynamite whilst I think some of their studio output I think has been a bit patchy of late. With World Container, however, they’ve produced their most accessible, straightforward (commercial?)album for a long time. It is absolutely bloody fantastic. Top marks to them then for choosing Bob Rock as producer on this one. Rock’s name was openly cursed by the Hip’s internet fanbase when they heard he had got the chair for the new CD as it seems he’s “ruined” other bands he’s got hold of in the studio (eg Metallica). But he’s obviously gelled big time with The Hip as they’ve produced a storming, heads down belter of a CD. Rock has said in interviews that he’s always wanted to do the “classic” Canadian album (he’s a Cannuck himself) and perhaps this is it. I just wish they’d release it outside North America, but there are ways and means of getting hold of such things… Best song title ever as well on this one too: Luv (sic). Genius. It’s a real thrill when one of your favourite bands releases a new album, and when it turns out to be as good as this one is then it really is a treat.
Barenaked Ladies: Barenaked Ladies are Me. More from Canada, but the other side of the Canadian musical coin perhaps as BNL made the transition from ‘just known in Canada’ to huge world success with their excellent Stunt album and ‘One Week’ single a few years back. That was 3 albums ago though now, and they’ve continued on since then with a lesser degree of platinum sales perhaps but with a consistent ability to write whole albums full of great songs. And also with a massive, hugely loyal fanbase. I really rated their last one “Everything to Everybody” but with BLAM they’ve surpassed themselves once again on the writing front. Having fulfilled their big label recording contract they’ve now gone independent and this enables them to do pretty much what they like, so this is another double CD fest (if you go for the full download version) release. 27 songs of ridiculously high standard: no filler apparent at all. Great stuff. As with the Hip BNL seem to love playing over here so we get to see them live on a regular basis in the UK. Get your tickets for their British dates next March as they are a live outfit not to be missed. A band who have a supreme ability to not take themselves seriously in any way (they mess about quite a bit on stage, often improvising whole songs), but at the same time produce some of the most spine tinglingly great live renditions of their ever growing catalogue. I’ll never forget being sat front and centre of the balcony in the Manchester Apollo while they rattled off a string of four or five album tracks and I just could not believe how ‘perfect’ they were at that moment: the band, the performance, the sound, the songs, everything. Stunning, in a word. One of those times when your spine just tingles with the experience and you feel forever indebted to the band for doing such a thing for you.
Anyway: Barenaked Ladies are Me: a top album from a great band.
The Feeling: Twelve Stops and Home. I bought this in HMV after hearing them play one track from it over the PA, and what a good decision it’s proved to be as it’s a very fine album indeed. I do like a band who can write good songs, and this is a whole CD full of great quality. It's very contemporary sounding, but there’s lots of old school references too: 10cc in particular, but definitely shades of Supertramp and I can almost hear Paul McCartney singing a couple of the tracks. Great stuff, and I am most pleased with my impulse buy.
Red Hot Chilli Peppers: Stadium Arcadium. Two Cds; 28 songs, which to be honest is a bit too much to take in so I’ve only really played disk one in the couple of weeks since I bought it. I’ve always enjoyed their stuff and with their last couple of albums they’ve settled down into writing great, catchy, loud, funky rock music and Stadium Arcadium is just that. More than anything these guys are a great BAND. Four musicians who gel as a unit in a unique fashion (rather like U2 in that way). Guitarist John Frusciante I think is a genius, both technically and as a song writer. To think that not so long ago this bloke had done so much drug taking that, amongst other things, all his teeth fell out it’s quite astonishing that he’s come back into the band and remained focused for them to produce their most successful string of albums to date. The Chilli Peppers are a band who are right on top of their game and who are an absolute pleasure to listen to.
The Tragically Hip: World Container. The Hip have been at this business 20 years now and still remain a wondrous Canadian secret. Canada’s most beloved band. I got to see them again in London in July and they as ever produced an electrifying performance, led by the verging on insane stage persona of singer Gord Downie. They have always been guaranteed live dynamite whilst I think some of their studio output I think has been a bit patchy of late. With World Container, however, they’ve produced their most accessible, straightforward (commercial?)album for a long time. It is absolutely bloody fantastic. Top marks to them then for choosing Bob Rock as producer on this one. Rock’s name was openly cursed by the Hip’s internet fanbase when they heard he had got the chair for the new CD as it seems he’s “ruined” other bands he’s got hold of in the studio (eg Metallica). But he’s obviously gelled big time with The Hip as they’ve produced a storming, heads down belter of a CD. Rock has said in interviews that he’s always wanted to do the “classic” Canadian album (he’s a Cannuck himself) and perhaps this is it. I just wish they’d release it outside North America, but there are ways and means of getting hold of such things… Best song title ever as well on this one too: Luv (sic). Genius. It’s a real thrill when one of your favourite bands releases a new album, and when it turns out to be as good as this one is then it really is a treat.
Barenaked Ladies: Barenaked Ladies are Me. More from Canada, but the other side of the Canadian musical coin perhaps as BNL made the transition from ‘just known in Canada’ to huge world success with their excellent Stunt album and ‘One Week’ single a few years back. That was 3 albums ago though now, and they’ve continued on since then with a lesser degree of platinum sales perhaps but with a consistent ability to write whole albums full of great songs. And also with a massive, hugely loyal fanbase. I really rated their last one “Everything to Everybody” but with BLAM they’ve surpassed themselves once again on the writing front. Having fulfilled their big label recording contract they’ve now gone independent and this enables them to do pretty much what they like, so this is another double CD fest (if you go for the full download version) release. 27 songs of ridiculously high standard: no filler apparent at all. Great stuff. As with the Hip BNL seem to love playing over here so we get to see them live on a regular basis in the UK. Get your tickets for their British dates next March as they are a live outfit not to be missed. A band who have a supreme ability to not take themselves seriously in any way (they mess about quite a bit on stage, often improvising whole songs), but at the same time produce some of the most spine tinglingly great live renditions of their ever growing catalogue. I’ll never forget being sat front and centre of the balcony in the Manchester Apollo while they rattled off a string of four or five album tracks and I just could not believe how ‘perfect’ they were at that moment: the band, the performance, the sound, the songs, everything. Stunning, in a word. One of those times when your spine just tingles with the experience and you feel forever indebted to the band for doing such a thing for you.
Anyway: Barenaked Ladies are Me: a top album from a great band.
Ramble On
I have an annoying cold. It's not quite enough of a cold to be properly (miserably) ill, but just enough to keep me waking up with a sore throat and then being sneezy and snotty for half the day, every day. It's also enough to prevent swimming. Ever tried swimming with a snotty nose? Not good - drowning is a distinct possibility - so I haven't been for 2 weeks. Must pick it up again next week, if this fucking cold disappears.
Anyway - still doing the running and have been commuting on the bike as ever. Snot dispersal is easy when running and cycling. Especially cycling as that's what cycle mitts are for.
Hey, what's with the weather anyhow? It's mid October and still no sign of the bike leggings going on as yet. Indeed it's still pretty much shorts and a single top on the way home. It's been a mixed bag of showers and sun all week, and when it's sunny it's proper warm. I noticed there's new nettles out on the running trails - even the plants are getting confused.
Hey - my new bike light is excellent. This week has been the first where lights are needed on the roads of a morning so it is being used in earnest as dawn is now between half 7 and 8 o'clock. OK, so I paid £13o for a bike light but it's a great bike light and makes me feel safe on the road, even in the twilight hours. Well, when I say 'safe' I mean 'more visible'. 'Safe' is not a state of mind which can be in any way connected with cycle commuting. I caught myself daydreaming whilst cycling the other night. Not a wise thing to do as when you daydream the eyes in the back of your head go asleep, and you lose your periferal vison. As everyone knows eyes in the back of your head are essential whilst bike commuting. Just like a £13o light.
Watching "Clerks" on DVD. A true classic and a steal at £6 in the current HMV sale. I never as a rule buy films on DVD as they generally get watched once and then shelved, but cold not resist this one... and the 3 disk edition of Memento for an utterly bargainesque £7. Hours of triple disk directors' commentaries, alternative endings; hilarious outtakes; original screen tests, actors' biographies; 'making of' documentaries; exclusive stills libraries and special web link DVD extras fun. So, I'll likely watch each one once and then shelve them.
Right - must prepare for the weekend.... Ok. That's that done.
It's one of those rare occasions where I can actually have a lie in tomorrow. Of course I won't have a lie in because I'll be wide awake at half 7. Do you grow out of lie ins I wonder? Or maybe we just grow through lie in phases in life. Mind you some people (you ladies in particular) seem to be able to muster a monster lie in at any opportunity. Lie ins are a gender thing? Discuss.
Anyway - still doing the running and have been commuting on the bike as ever. Snot dispersal is easy when running and cycling. Especially cycling as that's what cycle mitts are for.
Hey, what's with the weather anyhow? It's mid October and still no sign of the bike leggings going on as yet. Indeed it's still pretty much shorts and a single top on the way home. It's been a mixed bag of showers and sun all week, and when it's sunny it's proper warm. I noticed there's new nettles out on the running trails - even the plants are getting confused.
Hey - my new bike light is excellent. This week has been the first where lights are needed on the roads of a morning so it is being used in earnest as dawn is now between half 7 and 8 o'clock. OK, so I paid £13o for a bike light but it's a great bike light and makes me feel safe on the road, even in the twilight hours. Well, when I say 'safe' I mean 'more visible'. 'Safe' is not a state of mind which can be in any way connected with cycle commuting. I caught myself daydreaming whilst cycling the other night. Not a wise thing to do as when you daydream the eyes in the back of your head go asleep, and you lose your periferal vison. As everyone knows eyes in the back of your head are essential whilst bike commuting. Just like a £13o light.
Watching "Clerks" on DVD. A true classic and a steal at £6 in the current HMV sale. I never as a rule buy films on DVD as they generally get watched once and then shelved, but cold not resist this one... and the 3 disk edition of Memento for an utterly bargainesque £7. Hours of triple disk directors' commentaries, alternative endings; hilarious outtakes; original screen tests, actors' biographies; 'making of' documentaries; exclusive stills libraries and special web link DVD extras fun. So, I'll likely watch each one once and then shelve them.
Right - must prepare for the weekend.... Ok. That's that done.
It's one of those rare occasions where I can actually have a lie in tomorrow. Of course I won't have a lie in because I'll be wide awake at half 7. Do you grow out of lie ins I wonder? Or maybe we just grow through lie in phases in life. Mind you some people (you ladies in particular) seem to be able to muster a monster lie in at any opportunity. Lie ins are a gender thing? Discuss.
Friday, October 20, 2006
Friday, October 13, 2006
Book it and they will come...
A weekend away mountain biking is often easier said than done when it comes to getting a big group of people together. Best thing is to just pick a weekend, book the accomodation and then invite all and sundry along. And so it was for the Coed y Brenin mountain biking trip this weekend.
Coed y Brenin is near Dolgellau which is south North Wales or north Mid Wales. One of the two. Probably both. North Wales we all know about with Snowdonia and all that but I personally think that the Mid Wales area is criminally overlooked as a tourist area in Britain given that it is uniformly stunning. A couple of years ago I did a work thing at Aberystwyth which is two towns further on down into Wales and the drive was just amazing. Mountain bikers tend to know the secrets of Mid Wales as Rhayader for instance is a well trodden biking area with it’s proximity to the wonderful Elan Valley. Follow the A470: just down from Dolgellau there’s Machynlleth, sat in a quite beautiful valley and its Dyfi Forest is full of mountain biking. Onto lovely Llanidloes,(or nip over the top between these two via Staylittle and the inmpressive Clwedog reservoir); through Rhayader to Builth Wells and head down to Brecon and it’s mighty Beacons. Absolutely glorious, the lot of it. Oh, and then there’s the coastline of Cardigan Bay: Barmouth, Aberystwyth etc and points in between. Take a walk to the top of Cader Idris and you can see most of it. Actually – on second thoughts don’t go: stay away and leave the place to us mountain bikers and climbers.
I digress, back to Coed y Brenin. This place was the first ‘made’ mountain bike venue I think in the UK and I’ve visited it maybe 5 or 6 times now over the last 10 years. The absolute joy/madness of it’s flagship short and sweet “Red Bull” trail has never failed to reduce me to an endorphin fuelled, giggling wreck by the time I was racing round it’s bermed conclusion. Then there’s an afternoon out on the sprawling Karrimor trail round 40k of scenic, single tracked or fire roaded forestry, plus the more recent, more technical MBR route. A weekend at CyB involved doing all of them with the Red Bull at least twice.
The visitor centre/café was also top drawer with Sian (ex Wales champion MTB girlie) and her partner Dafydd serving up wondrous big snacks such as cheese or beans on toast (or indeed both), accompanied by huge mugs of tea. Exactly the thing hungry mountain bikers crave. There was also an excellent bike shop at the site. So, when news filtered through early this year that Sian and Dafydd had given up the center and that the place was undergoing a serious make over with new trails and shifting the visitor centre to the other side of the A470, it was difficult to know whether to be pleased or worried. Best thing really was to go a try the place out again, so that’s what we did last weekend.
Our booked accomodation was an excellent 10 berth bungalow at Ferndale (www.coedybrenin.com) within the forest iteslf, which meant we could ride from the house straight onto the trails (the visitor centre was about 10 minutes away round the easy ‘blue’ route). The house had tons of room, an Aga in the kitchen, wood burning stove in the lounge, "pet" mice on the loose, kayaking quailty river flowing next to it – all very ‘countryside’. Everyone turned up late Friday evening after their long drives – the others were the Reading bike crew, most of whom I’d met before. Rich had bought about 4 tons of food so we would certainly not go hungry and Saturday morning we tucked into eggs, bacon and beans done on the Aga. I think we were out by half 10 which is not bad considering there was 9 bikes worth of faffing to be done. Two inexperienced girls in the group sensibly opted for the easy routes so there were seven of us out on the serious trails for the day. We launched into “The Beast” and the old Red Bull now renamed “Tarw” (which is ’Bull’ in Welsh – see what they did there?). About 50k of great riding, and more for some (Rich C, Dean and Annie) as they finished off The Beast – in the dark at about 7pm.
The new and improved visitors' centre …Well, even though it's a lovely wood building and LOOKS great the old one was so good at catering for us cyclists with basic, big food that this one has a lot to live up to. They now seem to be catering for everyone (walkers and families on days out included – ciabatas anyone?) with waitress service. We ordered and then waitied nearly an hour for our food early afternoon, and they messed up the order when we did get it. Rather than complain we (well, Annie) offered some constructive criticism to the owner who was good about it actually. They were just mobbed - busier than August Bank Holiday apparently. 8 weeks it's been open and they are still struggling. But, they are going to have a re-think over the winter and hopefully get it right for next year. Fair enough. They'll get a lot of bad bress in the biking magazines and web sites for sure which is a pity. The bike shop there is actually smaller than the old one which is madness.
My fears about the trail improvments however proved to be unfounded as the new and improved routes really are amazing. Lots of technicalities though and a place only for the experienced. I think everyone came off over the bars on Saturday with some fairing better than others. Rich E (knee/ankle) and Paul (seriously onto his head and knee) were the worst injured with Warwick also putting a good effort in resulting in a neat hole in his elbow.
Saturday night after a marvellous pasta bolognaise cooked by Sue and Sylivia there was much wine and beer drunk in front of the cozy fire in the lounge. Party games materialised, such as the wicked card game “spoons” and the now legendary “team butts”, which was eventually ‘won’ by team jaundice. I think.
Sunday those intrepid souls who could still ride (Rich E and Paul retired due to their injuries) did the MBR route which for me was the best one as it was just pretty much continuous technicalities. We finished off with a flourish round the bits we’d missed out and the finale was part of the ‘blue’ route back down to our house which was an amazing rollercoaster downhill of a singletrack, blasting through the forest at stupid speeds: possibly the best bit of the whole two days. The weather by the way was excellent. One shower Sarturday and other than that lovely with little of the forecast winds in evidence. Sunday was especially good.
Then it was bikes washed; showers; the remains of the bolognaise to finish off; a quick tidy up; pack the cars; scavenge the left over food and then, sadly, it was time to break up the group and go home.
One of those perfect weekends really and hopefully we’ll do it again sometime. Ah, the joy of mountain biking: book somewhere to stay, all turn up and just get out there and ride.
Coed y Brenin is near Dolgellau which is south North Wales or north Mid Wales. One of the two. Probably both. North Wales we all know about with Snowdonia and all that but I personally think that the Mid Wales area is criminally overlooked as a tourist area in Britain given that it is uniformly stunning. A couple of years ago I did a work thing at Aberystwyth which is two towns further on down into Wales and the drive was just amazing. Mountain bikers tend to know the secrets of Mid Wales as Rhayader for instance is a well trodden biking area with it’s proximity to the wonderful Elan Valley. Follow the A470: just down from Dolgellau there’s Machynlleth, sat in a quite beautiful valley and its Dyfi Forest is full of mountain biking. Onto lovely Llanidloes,(or nip over the top between these two via Staylittle and the inmpressive Clwedog reservoir); through Rhayader to Builth Wells and head down to Brecon and it’s mighty Beacons. Absolutely glorious, the lot of it. Oh, and then there’s the coastline of Cardigan Bay: Barmouth, Aberystwyth etc and points in between. Take a walk to the top of Cader Idris and you can see most of it. Actually – on second thoughts don’t go: stay away and leave the place to us mountain bikers and climbers.
I digress, back to Coed y Brenin. This place was the first ‘made’ mountain bike venue I think in the UK and I’ve visited it maybe 5 or 6 times now over the last 10 years. The absolute joy/madness of it’s flagship short and sweet “Red Bull” trail has never failed to reduce me to an endorphin fuelled, giggling wreck by the time I was racing round it’s bermed conclusion. Then there’s an afternoon out on the sprawling Karrimor trail round 40k of scenic, single tracked or fire roaded forestry, plus the more recent, more technical MBR route. A weekend at CyB involved doing all of them with the Red Bull at least twice.
The visitor centre/café was also top drawer with Sian (ex Wales champion MTB girlie) and her partner Dafydd serving up wondrous big snacks such as cheese or beans on toast (or indeed both), accompanied by huge mugs of tea. Exactly the thing hungry mountain bikers crave. There was also an excellent bike shop at the site. So, when news filtered through early this year that Sian and Dafydd had given up the center and that the place was undergoing a serious make over with new trails and shifting the visitor centre to the other side of the A470, it was difficult to know whether to be pleased or worried. Best thing really was to go a try the place out again, so that’s what we did last weekend.
Our booked accomodation was an excellent 10 berth bungalow at Ferndale (www.coedybrenin.com) within the forest iteslf, which meant we could ride from the house straight onto the trails (the visitor centre was about 10 minutes away round the easy ‘blue’ route). The house had tons of room, an Aga in the kitchen, wood burning stove in the lounge, "pet" mice on the loose, kayaking quailty river flowing next to it – all very ‘countryside’. Everyone turned up late Friday evening after their long drives – the others were the Reading bike crew, most of whom I’d met before. Rich had bought about 4 tons of food so we would certainly not go hungry and Saturday morning we tucked into eggs, bacon and beans done on the Aga. I think we were out by half 10 which is not bad considering there was 9 bikes worth of faffing to be done. Two inexperienced girls in the group sensibly opted for the easy routes so there were seven of us out on the serious trails for the day. We launched into “The Beast” and the old Red Bull now renamed “Tarw” (which is ’Bull’ in Welsh – see what they did there?). About 50k of great riding, and more for some (Rich C, Dean and Annie) as they finished off The Beast – in the dark at about 7pm.
The new and improved visitors' centre …Well, even though it's a lovely wood building and LOOKS great the old one was so good at catering for us cyclists with basic, big food that this one has a lot to live up to. They now seem to be catering for everyone (walkers and families on days out included – ciabatas anyone?) with waitress service. We ordered and then waitied nearly an hour for our food early afternoon, and they messed up the order when we did get it. Rather than complain we (well, Annie) offered some constructive criticism to the owner who was good about it actually. They were just mobbed - busier than August Bank Holiday apparently. 8 weeks it's been open and they are still struggling. But, they are going to have a re-think over the winter and hopefully get it right for next year. Fair enough. They'll get a lot of bad bress in the biking magazines and web sites for sure which is a pity. The bike shop there is actually smaller than the old one which is madness.
My fears about the trail improvments however proved to be unfounded as the new and improved routes really are amazing. Lots of technicalities though and a place only for the experienced. I think everyone came off over the bars on Saturday with some fairing better than others. Rich E (knee/ankle) and Paul (seriously onto his head and knee) were the worst injured with Warwick also putting a good effort in resulting in a neat hole in his elbow.
Saturday night after a marvellous pasta bolognaise cooked by Sue and Sylivia there was much wine and beer drunk in front of the cozy fire in the lounge. Party games materialised, such as the wicked card game “spoons” and the now legendary “team butts”, which was eventually ‘won’ by team jaundice. I think.
Sunday those intrepid souls who could still ride (Rich E and Paul retired due to their injuries) did the MBR route which for me was the best one as it was just pretty much continuous technicalities. We finished off with a flourish round the bits we’d missed out and the finale was part of the ‘blue’ route back down to our house which was an amazing rollercoaster downhill of a singletrack, blasting through the forest at stupid speeds: possibly the best bit of the whole two days. The weather by the way was excellent. One shower Sarturday and other than that lovely with little of the forecast winds in evidence. Sunday was especially good.
Then it was bikes washed; showers; the remains of the bolognaise to finish off; a quick tidy up; pack the cars; scavenge the left over food and then, sadly, it was time to break up the group and go home.
One of those perfect weekends really and hopefully we’ll do it again sometime. Ah, the joy of mountain biking: book somewhere to stay, all turn up and just get out there and ride.
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
Driving
I was listening to Radio 4 this morning in the car (as you do) and there was a feature on the proposed new driving laws which are currently being researched. During this feature a lady read out a "victim statement" which she had written to read to the court just before the judge passed sentence on a 19 year old driver who had killed her daughter. Said daughter was 26; had just graduated from Oxford; seemed like one of life's beautiful people and was brutally slain by some unrepentant young fucking scumbag driver. If they want a deterrent for young people and a real warning of the damage they can do in their cars then perhaps a tape of this desperately sad message should be played to them a few times over the course of their lessons.
Of course it's likely that nothing can be done about the hardcore unrepentant delinquents who use the public roads as racetracks with scant regard for their own or anyone else's safety. Except maybe when one of them is caught in the act - such a the fat former boxer Nasseem whatsisname - they should be made an example of. Letting them out after serving half a short sentence is no deterrent.
Anyway - I hope this investigation does come up with some good new measures for lowering the body count of young drivers and the innocent victims of their ineptitude/recklessness on the roads.
Of course it's likely that nothing can be done about the hardcore unrepentant delinquents who use the public roads as racetracks with scant regard for their own or anyone else's safety. Except maybe when one of them is caught in the act - such a the fat former boxer Nasseem whatsisname - they should be made an example of. Letting them out after serving half a short sentence is no deterrent.
Anyway - I hope this investigation does come up with some good new measures for lowering the body count of young drivers and the innocent victims of their ineptitude/recklessness on the roads.
Monday, September 04, 2006
Steve Irwin
RIP fella.
"What kind of man was Steve Irwin? He stopped Australian Government plans to allow rich tourists into the Northern Territory to kill crocodiles for sport. He brought the beauty of nature back to millions through his documentaries. And he showed that if you love doing something, then you should put all your passion into doing it. Nothing less. He was a nice man. He was a kind man. Perhaps, the last real man... gone."
Alan, Brisbane, Australia
"What kind of man was Steve Irwin? He stopped Australian Government plans to allow rich tourists into the Northern Territory to kill crocodiles for sport. He brought the beauty of nature back to millions through his documentaries. And he showed that if you love doing something, then you should put all your passion into doing it. Nothing less. He was a nice man. He was a kind man. Perhaps, the last real man... gone."
Alan, Brisbane, Australia
Friday, September 01, 2006
Jane Tomlinson
Go visit here and be humbled. This lady is a national hero. She will be dead soon and to use what little time you have left for the benefit of others in such a way... words fail me. The phrase "We are not worthy" comes to mind.
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
All quiet
Nowt much happening at the moment. Not much at all this week as Liz has taken the kids on holiday (to Blackpool) . Due to having to fork out on car tax, MOT and servicing I am a bit broke this month until pay day so am having a real quiet week stopping in. Actually, it's quite disturbing that I can just disappear for a week and no one really notices. Ho hum - the joys of being single. At least I know that if I did make the effort there are things I could arrange quite easily, so it's not a doom and gloom week. In fact it's rather pleasant.
Me old mate Scottie is due up for a visit this weekend. I briefly saw him at the Tragically Hip show in London the other month. We had a quick "hello" before disappearing into the thick of the crowd, and promised to do a weekend together soon.
Also on the near horizon is a trip to the Coed y Brenin mountain bike centre at lovely Dolgellau- somewhere I've not been to for ages and somewhere I have great memories of from previous visits. Recently upgraded this place is the original (and arguably best?) "made" set of bike trails in the UK. It was amazing before the recent overhaul so we are hoping it will be just as good now. I have arranged to meet Rich from Reading and his crowd there at the beginning of next month. The northerners were invited but so far none have taken up the gauntlet - and I thought it was the southerners who were meant to be the softies...
Exercise -wise I'm still commuting on the bike each day (about 70 miles a week), runnning (three to four approx 10ks a week) and swimming (two or three times a week). So, you know - I'm just keeping me hand in... The swimming is going particularly well as the stroke improvement program seems to be getting me progress, but the leg work is really knackering, and it's tempting to just revert back to the 'old' stroke and bang out easy lengths for the whole session. The aim is to get the all important stroke count (per length) down and therefore in theory use less energy. (Or to just go faster and use more!) My stroke count was originally around 30 in a 25m pool and I got it to 28 before the Triathlon with the stretching out thing. Kicking from the hips I can do 25 - for about two lengths so far. It's amazing when it works as I feel literally turbo charged and it really would be incredible to be able to swim at that speed for a distance. It's hard work but a good challenge and I live in hope of making this serious leg power swimming thing a permanent arrangement.
With this here broadband I have discovered bit torrenting too. What a joy to get whole series of West Wing and 24 that I missed on the TV. When I'll watch them I don't actually know but it's good to know that I can get hold of this stuff, and for free. TheTragically Hip also have an unbelievably brilliant fan run live show download site - the Hip Tracker. From here I've taken a load of great old live shows, and have been able to seed them back as well so I can get more in the future. Marvellous.
The footy season has started again - it's amazng how quickly it comes round. Oh, the 'joy' of supporting Liverpool ... ho hum. And it's 9 pm and dark outside. Winter's coming!
Me old mate Scottie is due up for a visit this weekend. I briefly saw him at the Tragically Hip show in London the other month. We had a quick "hello" before disappearing into the thick of the crowd, and promised to do a weekend together soon.
Also on the near horizon is a trip to the Coed y Brenin mountain bike centre at lovely Dolgellau- somewhere I've not been to for ages and somewhere I have great memories of from previous visits. Recently upgraded this place is the original (and arguably best?) "made" set of bike trails in the UK. It was amazing before the recent overhaul so we are hoping it will be just as good now. I have arranged to meet Rich from Reading and his crowd there at the beginning of next month. The northerners were invited but so far none have taken up the gauntlet - and I thought it was the southerners who were meant to be the softies...
Exercise -wise I'm still commuting on the bike each day (about 70 miles a week), runnning (three to four approx 10ks a week) and swimming (two or three times a week). So, you know - I'm just keeping me hand in... The swimming is going particularly well as the stroke improvement program seems to be getting me progress, but the leg work is really knackering, and it's tempting to just revert back to the 'old' stroke and bang out easy lengths for the whole session. The aim is to get the all important stroke count (per length) down and therefore in theory use less energy. (Or to just go faster and use more!) My stroke count was originally around 30 in a 25m pool and I got it to 28 before the Triathlon with the stretching out thing. Kicking from the hips I can do 25 - for about two lengths so far. It's amazing when it works as I feel literally turbo charged and it really would be incredible to be able to swim at that speed for a distance. It's hard work but a good challenge and I live in hope of making this serious leg power swimming thing a permanent arrangement.
With this here broadband I have discovered bit torrenting too. What a joy to get whole series of West Wing and 24 that I missed on the TV. When I'll watch them I don't actually know but it's good to know that I can get hold of this stuff, and for free. TheTragically Hip also have an unbelievably brilliant fan run live show download site - the Hip Tracker. From here I've taken a load of great old live shows, and have been able to seed them back as well so I can get more in the future. Marvellous.
The footy season has started again - it's amazng how quickly it comes round. Oh, the 'joy' of supporting Liverpool ... ho hum. And it's 9 pm and dark outside. Winter's coming!
Monday, July 31, 2006
New email
I have now signed up for NTL broadband at home. My email address is
andygolborne(at)ntlworld.com
Julia - if you are still reading this from NZ then please get in touch again!
My MS Messenger ID is
andygolborne(at)hotmail.co.uk
andygolborne(at)ntlworld.com
Julia - if you are still reading this from NZ then please get in touch again!
My MS Messenger ID is
andygolborne(at)hotmail.co.uk
The Salford Triathlon
So, I did it. And it was ace.
Here's my result
Position: 235 Category position: 53
No 367 Golborne Andrew, Male M40-49
Swim: 0:35:55
Transition 1 : 0:00:32
Bike: 1:13:10
Transition 2: 02:54
Run: 0:51:11
Total 2:43:41
Under 2:45 is ace. I think so anyhow as before the start I would have been pleased to get under 3 hours.
At best I was thinking 40 minutes for the swim, 1hr 15mins for the cycle and anything up to an hour for the run, plus the transitions - say 5 minutes each. Going into the run and the end of all this was unknown territory. In fact most of it was unknown territory! So looking at the split times I think I did everything about as good as I thought I could do. Still only 53rd though which I am amazed to find myself a bit annoyed about! Seeing as I did so well by my own standards it seems that all of a sudden I have become rather competitive about my position. I’ll aim for 2hrs 30 next time!
Anyhow, there were lots of nice folk in the transition around me before the start and the guy next to me was offering sound advice and helped me zip up the wet suit etc. Top chap. I’d also had a good look around the day before, including a ride round most of the bike course. Consequently I did actually feel pretty relaxed by the time we were called to the dockside for the swim.The swim: Tell you what - I was right about not doing that the second practice trip to the lake as I was fine in the end. No real nerves amazingly. We all got in, jumping off the low pontoon and it was good to get a feel of being in there for a few minutes before the off. The water was warm enough so you didn't actually notice it - the elite groups didn't bother with wet suits. And it was very clean too. Lots of chatting while we were floating about and nice that everyone wished everyone around them 'good 'luck' as we were about to go. Well, they did where I was floating at least.
Here we go then … They got us behind the 'line', did a countdown and away we went. I didn't get into the same state as I had done in the lake at all and managed to keep my breathing under control. It was all a bit frantic and I did faff for about quarter of a lap, getting my head together and finding some open water of my own where I wasn't being swam on, or swimming on top of anyone else. It was incredibly difficult to see where I was going and I had one float on my back and get calmed session not long after the start but quickly got going again. After the first turn I settled down properly and actually enjoyed it, just plodding along trying to concentrate on my stroke. The second of the two laps was easier as I'd picked out landmarks along the dock side and so roughly knew where I was. There was a large bridge right across about two thirds of the was down which was a good marker to get set for the turn at the end, and at the other there was the Lowry buildings. There were also huge inflatable buoys right round the inside of the turns so navigation was Ok there, even if it did get a bit crowded, but the straight bits were easy and pretty soon I was on the last straight towards the transition. At the end I was a bit all over the place looking up to find the exit, but there were friendly marshalls guiding us in and offering advice about when to stop swimming and start staggering out of the water.
I was wobbly as hell coming out of the water, and weaved my way to the transition, but did manage to get my wet suit off down to my waist as I ran no problem which was satisfying. It seemed a long way to my bike though.Once there it was do that alternate foot stamp down on the wet suit thing to get it off your legs and feet ... a big drink and a squeeze a gel bar down. Get socks, shoes and hat on, unrack bike and then leg it to the mounting point ... All pretty smooth and once on the bike I found I was really giving it plenty, mainly as I was happy to have done the swim!
The bike time I was chuffed about as I averaged 20+ mph for 25 miles and there were a lot of sharp bends on the 8 lap course. It felt good and I enjoyed it. There was one big long drag of a hill which was into what breeze there was which was killing off people - I did lots of passing on that bit. I indulged in target orientated cycling: seeing people ahead and estimating how long it would take to get past them. This kept me amused for an hour anyhow, as I have to admit did the fit girls in swimsuits who were now with us, having started half an hour earlier. The mountain bike corners noticeably better than the tri bikes that most of the others were using so I was just lashing round the bends and slingshotting it past people in doing so. Great fun. There was one particular corner on the fastest bit of the course with furniture positioned awkwardly but I found after lap two that if I took a really wide line into it I could just get round at full tilt whereas loads of people were braking hard and losing all their hard earned momentum. As I said – there were a few things which kept me amused around my eight laps.
Transition 2: It again seemed a long way to the back of the transition area running with my bike after the dismount. Rack the bike and just the shoe change this time, and I knocked back another gel feed thing and some fluid, just as I'd done in the first transition. The start for the run timing was a good few hundred metres away by the Lowry, hence T2 being seemingly a lot longer than T1.
The run: Christ my legs felt like jelly coming out of transition, so I plodded - as I had no choice. The up and over the Lowry bridge at the start was just plain painful and I was a bit worried, but soon settled down into a decent rhythm. I was just not sure though how much I had left in the tank and didn't want to do too much and cramp up. Plus I had indigestion from that stupid gel bar thing as it would not go down. It felt like hard work, seemed to drag on and I didn't really manage to relax until the fourth and final lap - knowing that the end was in site. I could see my time too at the end of each lap by the finish line. I seemed to be doing OK which was a boost. The last bit on the last lap eventually came round and that was the up and over the footbridge and down to the front of the Lowry, only to go straight through the finish this time. The reception was tea and medals. Well, just medals. Alasdair Campbell finished just after me by the way. There were a few celebs out on the running course including several of the Emmerdale cast and by the time I finished the sprint and the relay races were on the course. Consequently there were loads of people round the finish arena which was good – I did feel I got a reception at least, even if there was no one there shouting for me in particular… maybe next time. Then it was a wander down to the transition through the crowds, absolutely made up that I'd actually done the thing. Had a chat again with the guys who were near me, we said our goodbuys, packed up and I walked, stiff legged, back to the car to pack up for the drive home. Job done. Now, when's the next one...?
Here's my result
Position: 235 Category position: 53
No 367 Golborne Andrew, Male M40-49
Swim: 0:35:55
Transition 1 : 0:00:32
Bike: 1:13:10
Transition 2: 02:54
Run: 0:51:11
Total 2:43:41
Under 2:45 is ace. I think so anyhow as before the start I would have been pleased to get under 3 hours.
At best I was thinking 40 minutes for the swim, 1hr 15mins for the cycle and anything up to an hour for the run, plus the transitions - say 5 minutes each. Going into the run and the end of all this was unknown territory. In fact most of it was unknown territory! So looking at the split times I think I did everything about as good as I thought I could do. Still only 53rd though which I am amazed to find myself a bit annoyed about! Seeing as I did so well by my own standards it seems that all of a sudden I have become rather competitive about my position. I’ll aim for 2hrs 30 next time!
Anyhow, there were lots of nice folk in the transition around me before the start and the guy next to me was offering sound advice and helped me zip up the wet suit etc. Top chap. I’d also had a good look around the day before, including a ride round most of the bike course. Consequently I did actually feel pretty relaxed by the time we were called to the dockside for the swim.The swim: Tell you what - I was right about not doing that the second practice trip to the lake as I was fine in the end. No real nerves amazingly. We all got in, jumping off the low pontoon and it was good to get a feel of being in there for a few minutes before the off. The water was warm enough so you didn't actually notice it - the elite groups didn't bother with wet suits. And it was very clean too. Lots of chatting while we were floating about and nice that everyone wished everyone around them 'good 'luck' as we were about to go. Well, they did where I was floating at least.
Here we go then … They got us behind the 'line', did a countdown and away we went. I didn't get into the same state as I had done in the lake at all and managed to keep my breathing under control. It was all a bit frantic and I did faff for about quarter of a lap, getting my head together and finding some open water of my own where I wasn't being swam on, or swimming on top of anyone else. It was incredibly difficult to see where I was going and I had one float on my back and get calmed session not long after the start but quickly got going again. After the first turn I settled down properly and actually enjoyed it, just plodding along trying to concentrate on my stroke. The second of the two laps was easier as I'd picked out landmarks along the dock side and so roughly knew where I was. There was a large bridge right across about two thirds of the was down which was a good marker to get set for the turn at the end, and at the other there was the Lowry buildings. There were also huge inflatable buoys right round the inside of the turns so navigation was Ok there, even if it did get a bit crowded, but the straight bits were easy and pretty soon I was on the last straight towards the transition. At the end I was a bit all over the place looking up to find the exit, but there were friendly marshalls guiding us in and offering advice about when to stop swimming and start staggering out of the water.
I was wobbly as hell coming out of the water, and weaved my way to the transition, but did manage to get my wet suit off down to my waist as I ran no problem which was satisfying. It seemed a long way to my bike though.Once there it was do that alternate foot stamp down on the wet suit thing to get it off your legs and feet ... a big drink and a squeeze a gel bar down. Get socks, shoes and hat on, unrack bike and then leg it to the mounting point ... All pretty smooth and once on the bike I found I was really giving it plenty, mainly as I was happy to have done the swim!
The bike time I was chuffed about as I averaged 20+ mph for 25 miles and there were a lot of sharp bends on the 8 lap course. It felt good and I enjoyed it. There was one big long drag of a hill which was into what breeze there was which was killing off people - I did lots of passing on that bit. I indulged in target orientated cycling: seeing people ahead and estimating how long it would take to get past them. This kept me amused for an hour anyhow, as I have to admit did the fit girls in swimsuits who were now with us, having started half an hour earlier. The mountain bike corners noticeably better than the tri bikes that most of the others were using so I was just lashing round the bends and slingshotting it past people in doing so. Great fun. There was one particular corner on the fastest bit of the course with furniture positioned awkwardly but I found after lap two that if I took a really wide line into it I could just get round at full tilt whereas loads of people were braking hard and losing all their hard earned momentum. As I said – there were a few things which kept me amused around my eight laps.
Transition 2: It again seemed a long way to the back of the transition area running with my bike after the dismount. Rack the bike and just the shoe change this time, and I knocked back another gel feed thing and some fluid, just as I'd done in the first transition. The start for the run timing was a good few hundred metres away by the Lowry, hence T2 being seemingly a lot longer than T1.
The run: Christ my legs felt like jelly coming out of transition, so I plodded - as I had no choice. The up and over the Lowry bridge at the start was just plain painful and I was a bit worried, but soon settled down into a decent rhythm. I was just not sure though how much I had left in the tank and didn't want to do too much and cramp up. Plus I had indigestion from that stupid gel bar thing as it would not go down. It felt like hard work, seemed to drag on and I didn't really manage to relax until the fourth and final lap - knowing that the end was in site. I could see my time too at the end of each lap by the finish line. I seemed to be doing OK which was a boost. The last bit on the last lap eventually came round and that was the up and over the footbridge and down to the front of the Lowry, only to go straight through the finish this time. The reception was tea and medals. Well, just medals. Alasdair Campbell finished just after me by the way. There were a few celebs out on the running course including several of the Emmerdale cast and by the time I finished the sprint and the relay races were on the course. Consequently there were loads of people round the finish arena which was good – I did feel I got a reception at least, even if there was no one there shouting for me in particular… maybe next time. Then it was a wander down to the transition through the crowds, absolutely made up that I'd actually done the thing. Had a chat again with the guys who were near me, we said our goodbuys, packed up and I walked, stiff legged, back to the car to pack up for the drive home. Job done. Now, when's the next one...?
Wednesday, July 26, 2006
Second open water swim
Err, yes, so I chickened out. I get a Tuesday evening free and all of a sudden there's the opportunity to go biking with the North Leeds Tuesday nighters around Ilkley Moor in utterly glorious weather. It's either that or a swim in a dank lake, full of weeds and stuff.
I managed to convince myself that another horrible lake experience would do more harm than good, and make me more nervous about the race swim. Hmmm. We shall see eh?
The biking was great by the way. LOADS of great singletrack round the moor on footpaths. There's apparently a Bradford council ruling which gives bikers permissive rights to all the Ilkley moor trails, which is handy. As long as we don't 'cause damage' ie churn it up in the mud. And there's no sign of any mud up there at the moment as we continue to bake in the heat. A brilliant ride. Nice pub up there too to finish off in - The Cow and Calf.
I managed to convince myself that another horrible lake experience would do more harm than good, and make me more nervous about the race swim. Hmmm. We shall see eh?
The biking was great by the way. LOADS of great singletrack round the moor on footpaths. There's apparently a Bradford council ruling which gives bikers permissive rights to all the Ilkley moor trails, which is handy. As long as we don't 'cause damage' ie churn it up in the mud. And there's no sign of any mud up there at the moment as we continue to bake in the heat. A brilliant ride. Nice pub up there too to finish off in - The Cow and Calf.
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
Wednesday, July 19, 2006
First open water swim
“How hard can it be swimming in a lake (and) in a wet suit?” I thought. I’ve spent the best part of 18 months getting to the point where I can front crawl the requisite 1500m comfortably, and am pleased to say that this is now the case – in a swimming pool. So, with less than 2 weeks to go before the event I made use of the local (Leeds/Bradford) triathlon club’s open water swim sessions at a sailing club lake in Otley.
My borrowed wet suit I’d already tried on a couple of times and it had seemed to fit fine. But donning it at the sailing club all of a sudden it felt small and uncomfortable. Too tight. Everyone else seemed to look the part in theirs – they all looked like triathletes – while I just felt awkward in mine. Mind you it was about 30 degrees in the shade and I was too warm stood about in it waiting for the off. My new goggles though would do the trick – ‘proper’ Tri goggles. Cool. The guy in the shop assured me they would be the best thing for open water swimming. I’d tested these in the pool a few times and they gave me much more vision than the old smaller ones.
I got chatting to a bloke who’s first time had been the week before and his one comment was that he’d had trouble breathing. Eh? As I said – how hard can this be?
A couple of safety announcements – us newbies were wearing white hats so we could be spotted – and we walked down to the water. OK then so here we go…
And… I can’t see. Anything. How do you look up to see where you are going? I try this and my breathing is all over the place. And I can’t breathe. And my suit’s too tight. And I’m getting a bit of a panic on here. Ok, on my back and calm down a bit. It’s only swimming. There’s the safety bloke in his kayak – I’ll flag him down and seek advice. “Calm down.” He says. Yeah? Cheers. Try again. Same thing – no vision at all and a real issue trying to re-organise stroke and breathing to try to be able to get my bearings. Breathing all over once again and I’m on my back .. calming down. “Get some water into your suit to take the pressure from round your chest.” He suggests. Good idea, and this does work. Amazing how warm the water is by the way. Goddammit now my fancy new goggles are leaking. Bloody things. On my back to sort these out. Breathing to both sides is no good as the sun is low and on the clubhouse side I cannot see a thing. The other side points of reference are trees and an island so I am all over the place and also not balancing right for some reason. Breathe to one side and count strokes to take my mind off everything else. Better. Ok, one (450m) lap done in a really useless stop and start fashion. Take a break. Get my shit together. Deep breaths. Right, back in and try again. Relax. Better. Breathe to the one side only and doggy paddle a couple of strokes to look up if needs be. Follow someone? No good as they disappear once they get about a foot away from you in the water. Is that a marker buoy ahead or someone’s hat? No idea. Whatever – head for it. Yuck – weeds and stuff in the water when it gets shallow – not too keen on that. It was a buoy. More water in goggles – I could fucking strangle that guy in the shop. More faffing. More disorientation. Some actual swimming. Is that another buoy ahead? I think so. The last one. Ok, two laps done and the second was better. Another? Err, no thanks - I’m out of here. And then there's getting the wet suit off - I can see that's going to be fun under competition conditions...
At least the other guys are really good to chat to and very understanding – I seem to pretty typical for a first timer, if a bit more useless than most. Lots of good advice, and I’ll be back next week for my what will be my last practice before the race. Gulp. A dock has to be better than a lake right?
My borrowed wet suit I’d already tried on a couple of times and it had seemed to fit fine. But donning it at the sailing club all of a sudden it felt small and uncomfortable. Too tight. Everyone else seemed to look the part in theirs – they all looked like triathletes – while I just felt awkward in mine. Mind you it was about 30 degrees in the shade and I was too warm stood about in it waiting for the off. My new goggles though would do the trick – ‘proper’ Tri goggles. Cool. The guy in the shop assured me they would be the best thing for open water swimming. I’d tested these in the pool a few times and they gave me much more vision than the old smaller ones.
I got chatting to a bloke who’s first time had been the week before and his one comment was that he’d had trouble breathing. Eh? As I said – how hard can this be?
A couple of safety announcements – us newbies were wearing white hats so we could be spotted – and we walked down to the water. OK then so here we go…
And… I can’t see. Anything. How do you look up to see where you are going? I try this and my breathing is all over the place. And I can’t breathe. And my suit’s too tight. And I’m getting a bit of a panic on here. Ok, on my back and calm down a bit. It’s only swimming. There’s the safety bloke in his kayak – I’ll flag him down and seek advice. “Calm down.” He says. Yeah? Cheers. Try again. Same thing – no vision at all and a real issue trying to re-organise stroke and breathing to try to be able to get my bearings. Breathing all over once again and I’m on my back .. calming down. “Get some water into your suit to take the pressure from round your chest.” He suggests. Good idea, and this does work. Amazing how warm the water is by the way. Goddammit now my fancy new goggles are leaking. Bloody things. On my back to sort these out. Breathing to both sides is no good as the sun is low and on the clubhouse side I cannot see a thing. The other side points of reference are trees and an island so I am all over the place and also not balancing right for some reason. Breathe to one side and count strokes to take my mind off everything else. Better. Ok, one (450m) lap done in a really useless stop and start fashion. Take a break. Get my shit together. Deep breaths. Right, back in and try again. Relax. Better. Breathe to the one side only and doggy paddle a couple of strokes to look up if needs be. Follow someone? No good as they disappear once they get about a foot away from you in the water. Is that a marker buoy ahead or someone’s hat? No idea. Whatever – head for it. Yuck – weeds and stuff in the water when it gets shallow – not too keen on that. It was a buoy. More water in goggles – I could fucking strangle that guy in the shop. More faffing. More disorientation. Some actual swimming. Is that another buoy ahead? I think so. The last one. Ok, two laps done and the second was better. Another? Err, no thanks - I’m out of here. And then there's getting the wet suit off - I can see that's going to be fun under competition conditions...
At least the other guys are really good to chat to and very understanding – I seem to pretty typical for a first timer, if a bit more useless than most. Lots of good advice, and I’ll be back next week for my what will be my last practice before the race. Gulp. A dock has to be better than a lake right?
Monday, July 17, 2006
Descent into Swaledale
Another great descent, down into Swaledale. Always nice to be back in Yorkshire.
Grasmere from Loughrigg Terrace
A late afternoon traverse of Loughrigg Terrace gave us this stunning view over Grasmere and the prospect of yet more spanking downhilling along this amazingly elevated bridleway.
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