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So what is our position then?

2010-11-22T16:05:00.001Z

Thank you Cathy Wilcox of the Sydney Morning Herald. You made me smile.

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Top bike for a top ride #cycling

2010-11-13T18:25:00.001Z

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n+1 #Strida Mk 3.2.5, multi-modal eBay bargain gets an upgrade. With pictures... #cycling

2010-10-24T17:28:00.001+01:00

Well, project 'perfect Strida' is underway in which having established the suitability of an old #Strida 3.2 for multi-mode commuting and work related cycling I'm seeking a to tweek it a bit and ensure its longevity.

What's been done so far....

Bended Steerer kit has been sourced and fitted. Basically a pair of bent folding hadlebars (the standard ones fold but are dead straight), new 'shorty' levers, needed to clear the pedals when folded in case you are wondering, grips and 'parking brake loops. These bars changes the handling a bit but gives me more knee room and as enabled me to raise the saddle significantly, though I still think it can go a notch or two higher.

Wire rear wheel sourced from the lovely people at Velorution and fitted. This turns the bike, in my eyes anyway, into a Mk 3.2.5 as the Mk 3.3 had wire wheels. No one in Europe seems to have a wire front wheel though so I'm talking to some other lovely people at Areaware in the states to see if a deal can be done on a pair of wheels. I won 't ever fly with her so for me wire wheels and the higher tyre pressures they support are the way to go. Only problem is the 3.2a snubber doesn't work with 3.3 wheels. Velorution have the bits in stock for me though so that is easy enough to sort. Back brakes got new shoes and a problem with the rear brake actuating arm was sorted, well bodged, at the same time as the new wheel went on.

Also changed are the shoulder bolts, the heads were gone on the original stainless ones and it wasn't possible to torque them up correctly, the new ones aren't stainless but do have 6mm allen sockets over the 4mm ones in the originals. 20Nm no bother now. You may just be able to make them out in these pictures at the joint between the steerer tube and the bottom tube.

The strida has also been, as we say in these parts 'festooned' with lights. Try to avoid SMIDSY when the clocks go back. Some hopes. If they aren't looking.....

Nothing I've done affects the superbly simple fold. Once folded as shown you just wheel the bike alpong on its wheels.

I've got hold of an aluminium bottom bracket housing from a Mk 1 to replace the plastic one you can see in the 'nearside' photo above. As it turns out the belt tension adjuster nut has sheered off so it all needs to come off anyway and I'll swap the housings over and, at the same time put a new 'chainwheel and belt on.

In the mean time I'll just ride her from the station to work and vice versa everyday and see how we go.

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n+1 #Strida Mk 3.2, multi-modal bargain or eBay waste of dosh?. Episode 6 My mind's made up #cycling

2010-10-01T17:13:00.001+01:00

So. Here we are. I've been riding the Strida for a while now. Every day when I've been working in the office it has come with me on the train. I've only not used it on London work trips becuase I haven't sorted the brakes out. We've pedalled ourselves up the hill to the office nealry every day and passed at my colleagues walking so that I'm sat at my desk drinking soffee and 'working' by the time they get in. The ride back down to catch the 17:46, well I reckon I could go faster but the drag from my silly grin, even in the pouring rain, slows me down. Weeeeeeeeeee! Riding it evenings and weekends on the flat provokes similar child-like emotions. You can't go fast. But you can have fun.

Tomorrow I have to go and commit myself to a monthy season ticket to cement the relationship. Or not. So read on....

I took a long hard look at my choices. I can't afford a new Brompton or similar. 2nd hand they are not a lot cheaper either. Cheap folders, with one exception are awful. No, seriously they are truly tragic and when you are 6' 2" and weigh as much as I do dangerously tragic too. Bendy seat posts, flexy bars and brakes that are purely decorative.

The only exception is the Compass Marine. As far as I can see it is an old Dahon clone. Singlespeed. Well made, good components, beloved of sailors. "Oh err missus!" But it folds badly, has to be held that way with bungies, and when folded is, well, frankly, huge, and ungainly and, to be honest, unattractive.

The Strida? I hardly ever have to carry it. My local station has these big steel gutters on the stairs so you can wheel a Strida up and down them with ease. Can't do that with a 20" wheel bike or an 'ordinary bicycle'. It unfolds in seconds flat, and if I unfold the bars and pedals whilst the train is pulling into the station, I'm off and cycling within 5 seconds of reaching the roadside. The look on the faces of passers by is amazing. They see you coming out of the station wheeling something that, to be honest, most looks like some sort of children's buggy, then kapow, it turns into a bike. and I'm off and away.

I've adapted to the twitchy handling and the unusual riding position. The ONLY downside is the amount of attention the darned thing draws. I'm sure this is down to the plastic wheels and the huge plastic frisbee sized 'chainwheel'. People stare at it goggle eyed. If you are a shrinking violet it isn't a bike for you. I wonder if the wirewheeled and more conventionally 'chainwheeled' Mk 4's and Mk 5's attract so much attention? People, total strangers, and we are talking about England for pities sake, start conversations with you! "Is it a bicycle?" is a common opening gambit, with "What is it?" coming a close second. The learned grizzled ones shuffle across, and mutter "How many inches?". It is a great bike for meeting new people on. Actually there is another, albeit small, downside. The rear mudguard is too short and you get a wet arse in the rain. A homemade bodge will sort that shortly.

I seem to have found some drivetrain spares I can buy and put away until needed. Moulding the rear 'cog' as part of the back wheel strikes me as a short sighted option, and I think an opportunity may have been missed in not having identical front and rear wheels. I got a bargain pair of tall rider folding handlebars for it from Vanmoof the current Europen distributors and have found a shop in London, Velorution, with a few NoS bits in, including my much needed brake shoes, which I'll get next week. No point putting the new bars, levers and cables on until I have the new brake shoes. It may even get upgraded to Mk 3.25 status with a plastic front wheel and a wire rear (pending me finding someone somehwere with a wire front wheel for sale simply so I can put higher pressure tyres on both ends). That's the troble with buying a unique and extra-ordinary bike no longer in production; spares become a worry, and no one will let me trade it in against a Mk 5. You have to take a long view.

Strida Mk 3.2, multi-modal bargain or eBay waste of dosh? Very much the former in my view. I love it. I love it to bits. Best cheap secondhand bike I've ever bought. I'm so looking forward to turning up at our next local cycle forum on it. The other members pull my leg that I never cycle to these meetings, they are held only 500m from my door and getting a bike out of the shed and locking it up at the venue takes longer than walking does. I'll show 'em. I'm even toying with the idea of riding London to Brighton on it for charity. God forbid, and I never thought I'd say this, but when cyclescheme comes around again next year I might go and have a demo ride on one of the Mk 5's. One of the sporty MAS Specials could be splendid fun on a Friday Night Ride to the Coast in aid of Martlets Hospice.

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Small wheels #cycling

2010-09-20T21:43:00.001+01:00

Well, it made me smile. I overtook someone on the way into work. He had 21 gears and 26" wheels. I've got 16" wheels and one gear....... go figure

via Posterous Post v0.13

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n+1 #Strida Mk 3.2, multi-modal bargain or waste of money? Episode 5 east meets west #cycling

2010-09-20T21:05:00.001+01:00

In which our hero recieves conflicting advice about the shortage of spare parts or the abundance of same

So where were we. Oh yes, I'd nearly died and had resolved to be more careful. The feeler guages arrived and armed with some loctite I set about my snubber. Jolly good. DAK! banished to tolerable levels in minutes flat. As I always say to my wife "It's so easy when you've got the right tools"

I decided to send an email reuesting information on availability and prices for spare parts to a short list of dealers and distributors. The responses I got back are confusing and contradictory. In Holland they say no more plastic wheels ( potentially career ending injury for the plastic wheeled Strida with its built in rear sproket - if that wears or you otherwise damage the wheel you need a new rear wheel. If you can't get a new rear wheel your Strida is useless) but wire ones are availalbe for £100 + P+P), in Hong Kong they say not sure about wire wheels but they are about £60 (ex VAT & P+P) if they can get them but they have plastic ones in stock for £25. So i'm gonna get me one of them there wheels from Hong Kong along with a new front disc which is nearly 50% cheaper than in the UK.

When the handlebars come I'm gong to move the saddle up a bit more and that, as they say, will be that tinkering wise for now. Except.... Except well Mark Saunders has told me the most rigid bottom bracker assembly they ever made for the MK1, 2 or 3 was the alloy one fitter to the Mk 1. and I found someone breaking a Mk 1 for spares on eBay, and got the BB assembly for a song. In lousy nick paintwork wise but nothing some hammerite won't cover up it seems.

So you own a Strida then. How's that going for you they ask. Well it has come into it's own several times over the weekend/evenings when an errand has had to be run which normally would have seen me drive or faff about getting a 'proper' bike out of the shed. And has been great for getting into town on at lunchtime. So thus far I'm pleased with it. I drew the line on a 20 mile round trip on Thursday night last week and tool my fast tourer aka le velo noir to do that on; not really the Strida's niche. That niche, and having a clear idea of it in your head is critical to succesful ownership I think. It is never going to replace a full size bike, or be my only bicycle in a way that, in the past, a Brompton has been. But for short journeys, where I don't want to lock and leave a bike, where I'm riding for utility not pleasure, it fills what is, for me a tricky gap. Would I ever buy a new one? No I don't think so; the design is a tiny bit flawed in my eyes; belt slippage and the methods used to control and tame it are a bit of a fudge, and my physical dimensions are right out there at the edge of the specification envelope. I know in the far est they now make a smaller model. For me they need to make a bigger one!

A final word for now. A strida also gives one a huge sense of moral superiority over other folder owners, when riding on a train it can get all up-close-and-personal without covering me in greasy marks and, more improtantly on exiting the train I roll it out along the platform whilst the Bromptonisti lug their shin biting lumps along with sholders trying to burst from their sockets. (Hint; fit some in line skate wheels to the rack chaps and roll it on those)

Very gratifying.

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n+1 #Strida Mk 3.2, multi-modal bargain or waste of money? Episode 4 Dowhill all the way #cycling

2010-09-15T13:38:00.001+01:00

In which our hero acquires some tools and narrowly avoids death through the deft application of shoe leather.

So, as I said below, the rear brake is in desperate need of new shoes for the drum. Ordered. Also ordered some feeler guages to sort the snubber as per advice from Mark Saunders himself (@77A on Twitter)So off I went from the office and it is downhill all the way from the gates to the station some 1.6km and 35m below. Lovely job; walk up the path in a fine drizzle to the top of the driveway, the bottom being so steep it would inevitably induce a fit of the DAKS! Elastic bands liberated from the post on the pedals, bike unfolded, lights on.

First event of note is the double mini roundabout at the end of the road. This requires me to do a right and then an immediate left. Across a strem of A road traffic which at 5:30 is pretty dense. Hmm... Best I master this pushing off technique as pulling away sharpish in the few small gaps the flow of traffic contains with a 56" gear is not easily done under these conditions. We make it through. I adopt a strong primary so as not to get squeezed into the parked car on the slope and we are cooking on gas - freewheel-tastic, go look behind, signal a right, lifesaver turn right of the road up and over a hump and then left onto a road running parallel down the hill to the one I've just left but which carries much less traffic.

Decide I'll go around the small gyratory system at the bottom of the hill rather than pavement ride the last 50m to the station entrance whicch is actually on a one-way section of the gyratory. We reach the steep section of the hill. Stupid Greg! Stupid STUPID Greg! There's a car coming around the gyratory and a give way line coming up fast and a big handful of the front brake on this slope just isn't slowing me down anywhere near fast enough, and I've got to make the turn. I judge that if I don't stop I will arrive on the other side of that give way line a fraction of a second before the maroon Audi A8 (funny how fear gives one such clairity). I'm following the road around to the left so my inside foot goes down, I unweight th saddle and listen as my lovely leather soled shoe (a Chelseas boot actually) is used as a brake block. But it works and I roll to a halt just short of the give way line.

Note to self:- moderate your entry speed to that section and take care cos once on that slope you ain't slowin' down with one brake.

I've since adjusted the brakes some more but I need to chivvy the dealer along on getting the new brake shoes.

I had planned y'day to take the bike with me on the train to central London but decided that this is not a go-er with only one brake. My attempt to use a Boris Bike (Barclys Cycle Hire) instead is foiled by a late running inbound train and the fact that Transport for London seem to have disabled my account. I got the tube/walked instead.

This morning I arrived at work via train and Strida to find the feeler guages had arrived, thank you Amazon Prime, so tonight I plan to strip the snubber down, remove any play in the bearings with a coke can shim and refit it by the book with a .25mm gap and the judicious use of nutloc. Hopefully this will banish the DAKS! whilst the alarming swaying bottom bracket when climbing is, I guess, just a feature of the design you have to get used to. Also got an email from Strida Netherlands. For €35 the 'chainwheel' can stay cracked. But good news; the bent hanfldebars can be retrofitted. Roll on pay day! Downside is they have none in stock and aren't saying how much they cost and they didn't answer my question about the availaibliy (or not) of wire wheels.

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That @sam_wise celebrates the end of rehab wirh his Dad

2010-09-14T18:36:00.001+01:00

Cafe Gerard cafe, Victoria. Well done Benenden Healthcare!

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n+1 eBay Strida Mk 3, multi-modal bargain or waste of money? The first commute in... Part III #cycling

2010-09-13T10:08:00.001+01:00

Rucksack packed. Weekly season ticket bought, ghastly hi-viz tabard on over day clothes. Fortunately every day is dress-down-Friday in our office. In two minds about taking/wearing a helmet but timidity prevails, so I have to find a cap as I removed the foam liner from my helmet many moons ago because of the pong. Muxu Ride Cap, a lovely piece of kit from Barcelona, found and it will be worn backwards; not sure my trail helmet doesn't look weird on a folder and a cap under it worn roadie style will border on ridiculous.

Walking to the station reveals a need for some form of elastic band to keep the handlebars tucked in. They keep swinging out and catching me on the leg. Not unconvinced that some form of strap to keep it all folded up would not go amiss as I have eight flights of station/office stairs to negotiate between A and B. No point riding to the station, it is a one minute walk, if that, door-to-door becuase we bought our house when I had to commute daily to the City of London. Actually we bought a house about 100 yards down the street oriignially so I could walk to work at the software house I was working at; this subsequently went bust and I got a job in London. When we bought our current house we told people we were moving what, eighht doors up the street, as the first house was too far from the station!

On boarding the train I discover that if I sit in one of the disabled priority seats (by the toilet and the cycle storage area - NB non-folders are banned on the peak time services I need to use so this space is wasted and I've never seen a disabled person use them during the peak) I can put the wheels against the partition and have the stem resting on the front of the seat between my legs. I read a book, 'The Girl who kicked the Hornet's Nest' if you are interested and change trains at my intermediate point Three Bridges Station. Luckily I have only a minute to waite as a late running southbound connection arrives.

At our destination I'm sat right by the station 'rear' exit stairs when the train pulls in a few minutes later. I unfold the bars as I exit the station and then unfold the frame once outside. Now the real fun begins. The run to the office involves a climb of 35m over 1.6km and the steepest section is at the station end. On I get and off I push, I start pedalling and dang! My feet shoot straight of the pedals. Note to self: don't wear leather soled shoes on this puppy. This won't be a problem tomorrow as I have lots of rubber/plastic soled street shoes at home I can wear and change out of when I get to work. I am one of the probably few married men who more choice of footwear than their wives!

Feet back on pedals and.... you've guessed it.... DAK! dak! DAK!. Hmmm.... "that's an annoying feature" I think as the steepest section starts to bite "and I spent ages carefully adjusting the snubber yesterday." I think perhaps we may have a worn drivetrain possibly requiring a new belt and or rear 'sprocket'. Does that require replacing the entire wheel? Eek! Either that or the tension still isn't right (certainly doesn't take 4+kg of force to move the belt to touch the frame like the handbook says it should) and/or I didn't set the snubber properly after all.

Once the slope eases off the DAK! disappears and we spin our merry way towards work. Certainly gets the heart rate up and on a relatively warm morning makes one 'glow' a little. Once I turn right into the office driveway it's "Weeeeeeeeeee!" all the way to the office backdoor as a good portion of the height gained on the last third of the journey is lost on site. DAK! or no DAK! you just can't help smiling when you ride this thing. Bike folded, stairs climbed. Java on to brew.

If the trains run on time I can leave home at 08:30 and be at my desk at 09:20. In the car I'd be 10 mins or so quicker at this time of day, and on a normal bike it takes between 40 - 50 mins depending on how hard I push it, but then I need to shower and change on arrival. The rest of this week I'm going to juggle departure times to see if I can get in earlier but avoid the huge crush on the first London bound leg of my journey, ultimately I'd like to leav ehome around 07:30, at the same time as my wife sets off, by car, to the college on the coast, where she teaches.

Already looking forward to the journey home...... and a date with a .25mm feeler gauge. Going to take the snubber apart, figure out how it works, I'm hoping some sort of eccentic, and reset it.

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n+1 eBay Strida Mk 3, multi-modal bargain or waste of money? A cyclist's dilemma... Part II #cycling

2010-09-12T15:42:00.001+01:00

The weather yesterday was grim, it kept raining, and as my bike workshop is actually our back yard I didn't get to work on the Strida until today. So here is the next installment of our tale as promised.

The engineering

If I have my have my history right Mark Saunders designed the original Strida back in the 80's. Various detail changes have been made over the years and as I understand it my Mk 3.2 would have been built in the early noughties. It is a very simple design, basically a triangle, a wheel at the two bottom corners, bottom bracket bolted to the bottom tube, the entire front tube is a stem, and the steerer comes off the triangle's upper point which hinges when you fold the frame and when you steer the bike; darned clever ball and socket joint.. The wheels are plastic with conventional tubed 16" tyres, cable operated drum brakes, a normal saddle but fitted to a huge plastic clamp which has to be moved up and down the rear tube to adjust the height. It can be ridden by someone up to 6' 3" apparently and Mr Saunders is a very tall man so I'm told.

The tubes are all alloy nicely finished with a few marks and scars. This is a used bike after all. First task; go round every bolt and ensure it is torqued up. This is where the devil in the detail design starts to prod you in the bum. Many of the fasteners are dome headed allen bolts. Shallow headed little things and some of them have, imo, ridiculously small socket sizes for the amount of torque they are meant to be cinched up to. The drum brakes are a mix of inspired design and nasty nasty pressed steel components with BSO cable adjusters which probalby cost a couple of pence each. Alloy component screwing into a steel bracket. It is a recipe for electolytic corrosion and siezure. Good job I had a tin of GT85 to hand. Let me say, these faults are not the sole province of Strida's, they often afflict mid range bikes around the £500 mark. Heres' a couple of old publicity shots of a Strida for your entertainment. Battery is flat in my camera phone at present so I can't get anything real. Will ask the nice people at Strida in the Netherlands what a completely new set of fasteners will cost me. OK, everything tightened as it should be, front brake adjuster freed off and adjusted, let's go for a ride remembering the back brake is completely u/s.

The first ride

Mentally I was prepared for the unconventional riding position. Your legs don't extend anywhere near as much as they do on a conventionally framed bike, the bars feel like they are in your lap, and you sit bolt upright. In fact, I think riding a Strida probably does wonders for your posture! Of we went, one gear only, quite easy to spin out on the slope down from my house. Steering is twitchy compared with 700c or 26" wheels but in minutes your used to it. Here comes the upslope, put some force into it, DAK!, cmon push those puppies, DAK!, DAK!. Aha! The belt is slipping under load. I'd been warned to expect this by another Strida rider on Twitter. Still fettling that is fairly simple. So change tactics, when confronted with any kind of hill spin like crazy thinking 'pedal faster not harder' and for the most part the slippage disappears. I ride on grinning like a maniac and saying 'Good morning' to every cyclist I see. The 56" gear means you aren't going anywhere fast so you seem to just kick back and relax, sit bolt upright and watch the world go by all the while grinning like a loon. Yes this is one happy making bicycle. By the time I arrive at my destination 3 miles away I'm singing and whisting and having a whale of a time. Off I hop, and the bike is folded in 15 seconds. The great joy of a Strida is, once folded, you push, or pull, it around on its own wheels. Simples.

Destination was Halfords, by the way, to buy a flourescent pink springy trouser clip thing. Today I'm wearing baggy shorts but Mon-Fri I'll be riding in normal clothes, so a trouser clip is needed. Yes I could have gone to my LBS but both of those are only a few hundred yards away and that is no test. The first ride has certainly taught me a few things, I need to move the saddle back a bit, I need the seat a little higher and, if you don't like attention from drivers, pedestrians, goggle-eyed kids, or local bike club members then don't ride a Strida. On my way back from Halfords I'm overtaken by three pre-teens whilst on the approach ramp to the footbridge that crosses our local racetrack dual carriageway the A24. We;ve all ignored the cyclists dismount signs if they exist. I can't keep up with them, due to the constant DAK! DAK! but on the other side of the bridge is a long old downhill run. God forgive me the temptation was too much! I weigh more than the three lads put together so I let gravity do its stuff, passing the first he bursts into hysterical laughter and his mate turns just as I flash past, they are pedalling and I'm freewheeling. They call to the kid in front, he looks over his shoulder and... the race is on, he's up on the pedals and I'mhunched forwards spinning as fast as I can, trying to avoid the DAK!, we come to a bend, a sharp 90 degree and I oversteer a bit as the inside pedal hits the ground, he brakes and I WIN! As I cycle off he stops and shouts "Oi mate! Cool bike!". You could not make it up.

6 mile round trip done in comfort, and I even fell brave enough to ride off a couple of kerbs. It is a perfect bike for pedestrian/cyclist shared use routes, you aren't going fast and you have your head up so can see everything

Back home I raise the saddle some more and move it back in its clamp. I may need to look for a saddle with longer rails. Adjusting the belt tension takes a little while, most of which was spent trying to find a 7mm spanner for the adjuster screw which moves the entire bottom bracket assembly forwards. Quick test ride reveals the DAK! has been banised (for now).

Tomorrow, we ride the train to work. Watch this space

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n+1 eBay Strida Mk 3, an multi-modal enabling bargain or waste of money? A cyclist's dilemma...

2010-09-11T16:06:00.001+01:00

I don't have the stones to commute by bike for 4 seasons of the year (rural 13 miles each way).This year has been rubbish with minimal bike commutting after I broke my knee in late January, on a rugby pitch, and then had a few related health fitness issues over the summer. I've realised that unless and until I get rid of the car then having it sat there outside my front door is always going to tempt me into it when the weather is bad, or I'm tired, or lazy. So the car was going up for sale but now Beth, my daughter, has made me an offer for it so when she gets back from Cypus next week I will be tossing the keys in her direction and getting on the train.

I'm going to see if a folder makes train commuting more of a realistic proposition. The station is a two minute walk from home but I've a 20 minute uphill walk to the office at the other end. For some reason I've taken against this walk. I loathe it. If I train it to work having no transport lunch times is a drag as town is a 25 minute walk away. I considered buying a clunker to leave at the station but decided against as a) no proper cycle parking at the station b) chaining it to the railings isn't fair on the people who live around there,c) even clunkers get nicked or vandalised d) I don't like riding clunkers.

I looked a compass marine folder. £133 delivered. Then a Strida caught my eye. A bit of research on eBay reveals Mk III's go for around £100 and seem to hold that price pretty much regardless of age so long as they are in working order. Parts are still available, from here in the UK or from Vanmoof in the Netherlands, there are even a couple of London based shops that do spares, repairs and service, and looking at the parts diagrams any half way competant home mechanic should be able to do most things once you get used to the weirdness e.g. an 18t shimano screw on freewheel in the bottom bracket area and no freewheel on the backwheel. Si it has a freewheel, just not where you'd expect it to be on a conventional bike.

Put in a bid and got one. From someone on the Isle of White whose multi-modal commute seemed to go train-ferry-train-bike. So, it arrived yesterday partly stripped for shipping so my first mission was putting the seat and rack back on. I needed to reposition the seat being a fair bit taller than the first owner and removing the seat locating pin was a bit of a drag, I think the threads on the alloy seat tube are worn. However once removed it was only a couple of mins work to put it all back on, probably set the saddle an inch or two too low but will do for now. Putting the rack on took only seconds. I checked all the bolts, tightened a few, and found one partly rounded allen socket (which I'll replace in due course). Will give it a going over with a torque wrench in accordance with the manual and "Mike's Tips" (the designers own guide to getting the best out of his creation - though he has sold the design on to a company in the Far East, Ming, who are one of the world's largest bike manufacturers) later today if it stops raining and put some air in the tyres and a couple of mini LED's fitting and it should be good to go. I restricted myself to couple of very wobbly runs down a quiet corridor at work y'day. 56" gear. Easier than my fixed.

The listing said the back brake needs new shoes. As it is it is merely for decoration, the left lever does nothing. Let's hope that is all it is and nothing more sinister is wrong with the rear brake. That said, who uses their rear brake?. Deens Garage of Beckenham are getting me some new shoes in £20 for a set of four. Came with a spare set of green mudguards, those fitted are orange, and two spare Halfords tubes. I suspect the tubes fitted may be perished hence the generous replacement tubes not mentioned in the auction. Cheeky. Saddle is a well squidgy gel one and normally we wouldn't get on but I won't be riding it for long at a stretch. Condition overall is used, but no major flaws, and the 'chainwheel' has a circumferential crack but it doesn't seem to affect its performance. It is a Mk 3.2 as it turns out, with the snubber bearing to prevent the drive belt from skipping a tooth.

If it suits and I decide to keep it I think I'd want to look at:-

Sorting out better mudguards/putting flaps on the existing ones - the rear isn't long enough to prevent 'the stripes' when its wet and I want to ride waering normal clothes.
Finding out if a Strida 5.x (current model) bent handlebar set can be retrofitted to a Mk 3.2 to give my knees more room
Seeing if a Brooks Flyer sprung saddle will fit (I have one spare)
Buying a courier bag to carry stuff in as it has a very upright riding position and I hate rucksacks on bikes.
Maybe putting faster wire wheels on; at my size 100psi is preferred over the 65psi max allowed by the plastic wheels but that would depend on picking up a pair second hand or NoS from somewhere.

Oh yes it fits in the boot of a Cinquecento (but that's going to my daughter) and how many bikes can you say that about?

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The inevitable conclusion when unfit man-in-black goes too fast up steep hill

2010-09-05T16:32:00.001+01:00

Friday Night Ride to the Coast in aid of Martlets Hospice. I marshalled the ride for a few hours, in deepest Mid-Sussex. Originally I planned to just cycle home. In a way I did going home from Scaynes Hill via Brighton, Shoreham, Steyning, etc., and there was this little lump en-route called Ditchling Beacon.

As someone kindly said afterwards "He showed his guts by getting up the beacon and then the contents therein! "

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At my fave tea room in Steyning Sussex en route to home #FNRttC #cycling

2010-09-04T11:14:00.001+01:00

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Le Velo Noir, my new bike #cycling

2010-06-04T14:13:00.001+01:00

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One for @simonlamb and @shuttvelorapide

2010-05-31T10:31:00.001+01:00

My Gazzetta Della Bici jersey. Top bit of kit, sportwool is amazing stuff.

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My #cycling weapon of choice for today

2010-05-30T19:27:00.001+01:00

It runs on coffee water and bakewell tart

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Making ACTA more transparent, my first reply.

2010-05-20T15:02:00.001+01:00

From: Sharon Bowles Office
To: me
Sent: Thu, 20 May 2010 12:17:45 +0100
Subject: RE: Please help to make ACTA more transparent by supporting motion WD 12 2010 (My Ref: DT1078-INTA)

Dear Mr. Collins,

Thank you for your email. I voted in favour of the resolution you have mentioned opposing the ACTA negotiating process. The Commission have since released the negotiation documents and they can be viewed online at http://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/press/index.cfm?id=552&serie=337&langId=en. This is something that was long overdue and I welcome it.

I have been concerned about the substance of the ACTA negotiations and the perceived lack of transparency surrounding them. Issues of intellectual property are today very sensitive with the greater availability of content online and this has provoked a number of unwelcome actions by governments in the name of copyright protection. Given that intellectual property issues are an area where there are very legitimate differences of opinion across the political spectrum, it is unacceptable that the basic principles under which the Commission is negotiating on our behalf were not earlier made public and open to challenge and complaint.

It should be acknowledged for the sake of fairness that as an international negotiation the responsibility for transparency has not rested solely with Europe but also with our fellow negotiating partners. It appears that the release of negotiating documents was hitherto blocked by a number of the other negotiating partners, including the United States and Mexico, and that their release has been as a result of European pressure. However in international negotiations which have an economic impact it is by no means unusual for them to take place behind closed doors. Complete disclosure of information on any issue while it is the subject of international negotiation has the potential to impede the proper conduct of such negotiations.

It is worth remembering that under the Lisbon Treaty, the Commission has a legally-enforceable obligation to inform Parliament of the progress of all international negotiations at every stage, and that ultimately Parliament has the power to reject any international agreement with which it is not satisfied. The Commission and Council must learn to adapt to the new powers of the European Parliament post-Lisbon and begin to habitually include Parliament and the public at every stage.

Yours sincerely,

Sharon Bowles MEP
Office of Sharon Bowles MEP, Liberal Democrat
Chair of the European Parliament Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee
Member of the European Parliament for South East England
Tel. +44 (0)1442 875 962
www.sharonbowles.org.uk

-----Original Message-----
From: me
Sent: 19 May 2010 12:43
To: Sharon Bowles Office
Subject: Please help to make ACTA more transparent by supporting motion WD 12 2010

Ms Sharon Margaret Bowles
South East
European Parliament
BELGIUM

Dear Ms Bowles,

I urge you to sign Written Declaration 12/2010 tabled by Fran?oise Castex, Zuzana Roithov?, Alexander Alvaro, Stavros Lambrinidis which calls for greater transparency of the ACTA process.

The European Commission, the United States and eleven other countries have secretly negotiated the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) for over two years. ACTA is a global multilateral agreement that seeks to establish international standards to tackle the counterfeiting of goods, generic medicines and online copyright infringement.

I am worried, however that it will also threaten fundamental freedoms such as freedom of expression, introduce harsh punishments and makes the access to generic medicines more difficult.

Although I welcome the recent release of the draft text, I strongly believe that the whole process needs to be more transparent. The positions of individual countries remain in the dark, so European citizens still don't know who is pushing for the most severe measures such as the three strikes provision which could disconnect citizens from the internet.

Among other things Written Declaration 12/2010

- calls on the European Commission to immediately release all ACTA related documents

- states that ACTA should not limit judicial due process or weaken fundamental rights and data protection

- emphasises that Internet Service Providers should not be liable for the data they transmit

- states that the access to generic medicines should not be impeded

In March MEPs overwhelmingly approved a common resolution opposing the ACTA negotiations process. By signing Written Declaration 12/2010 you ensure that the call for transparency remains a top priority and put pressure on the European Commission to bring up the issue at the next ACTA round in Switzerland.

Thanks very much.

Yours sincerely,

Greg Collins
HORSHAM

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You're welcome to lloydstsb.com

2010-05-19T22:17:00.001+01:00

via lloydstsb.com

Arrrgggghhhhh!

Umpteenth phone call of the week to LloydsTSB. They seem determined to stop me spending my money. Apparently buying some extra premium bonds and paying for a holiday is 'suspicious'. Except I buy Premium Bonds every month and go on holiday at least once a year!

I've banked with them for 20+ years and must have spoken to them more in the last 10 days than I have in the last ten years. It's almost as if Internet Banking has been replaced by some crazy hybrid "Do it on the internet but why bother? you'll still have to spend 20 minutes on the 'phone speaking to one of our "Computer says 'No'" call centre staff anyway" frankenbank.

Here's a taster.

Tried to use a debit card from Lloyds to make a payment to Lloyds to pay off part of a loan. Asked if was Ok to do this "Oh Sir how silly this is 2010 of course you can!" style response. Shedloads of cash in the bank but ... Card declined.

Receiving bit of Lloyds then treats me like I'm something on the sole of a shoe. I call and ask debit card people why? "Security" WTF?

Try again. It goes through. "Don't forget to cancel the DD" they say. I cancel the DD.

Try to buy some petrol. Card declined. Mortified. Use another card. Get to work, call them. "Security" WTF!

You remember that DD I cancelled. They send me a shitty "You've cancelled your DD. Pay us what you owe. Go directly to the Collections Department. Do not pass go. Do not collect £200" style letter. I phone up to complain and some bored Geordie's in Peterlee do the equivalent of a gallic shrug. The complaints team that I eventually get put through to actually said, "We are living in crazy world sir". Yes. SERIOUSLY.

Tonight I need to help someone out and I get "You are not authorised to use internet banking" I called the please call this number and got passed from person to person three times and every time had to answer the same flippin' 'security' questions. Along with a whole lot of new ones I'd never been asked before about get this OTHER Lloyds account holders who live at this address.

Switch you current account to us and put your feet up..... our backside if you want any service, or access to your money, or just to be treated like a customer.

and relax!

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I thought I would throw up

2010-05-19T18:10:00.001+01:00

Mum is cleared of causing death of cyclist

Published Date: 03 May 2010

A physiotherapist accused of causing the death by dangerous driving of a cyclist through not clearing her windscreen properly has been found not guilty.

Lisa Jackson, 39, was tried on two counts, one of death by dangerous driving and one of death by careless driving.
A jury at Chichester Crown Court delivered not guilty verdicts on both counts.
They took less than an hour to make their decision
The court had heard Mrs Jackson was taking her children to school when the accident happened.
She was turning right from Fishbourne Road East into Clay Lane, Fishbourne, on February 11 last year when she hit 85-year-old George Canterbury.
Mr Canterbury, of Salthill Road, Fishbourne, died four days after the accident after sustaining severe head injuries.
Some eye-witnesses said Mrs Jackson had not cleaned her windscreen properly from the overnight frost.
But the mother-of-three, of Fishbourne Road East, said she had been blinded by sunlight and had not seen him.
She said: 'I felt I had cleared the windscreen sufficiently with the scraper and particularly as the heaters had been on at least five minutes I didn't feel there was any reason to wait any longer.'
There was a gasp of relief as the verdict was read out. Judge Claudia Ackner thanked the jury for its time.
'This has not been an easy case and I thank you very much,' she added.

via portsmouth.co.uk

I'm a cyclist.

Sometimes you read something like this and your head spins and you want to vomit.

Should a new offence be created "Causing death by impatient driving"?

Just after we moved to Horsham someone was killed just by our house, wet road, clear sky, low sun, slight uphill slope, the sun was in the drivers eyes, the windscreen was misted and not fully defrosted and the cyclist was wearing hi-viz so didn't stand out. That driver was found not guilty as well.

Nothing seems to change, drivers kill cyclists but it's no one's fault, no one is guilty of anything.

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La Gazzetta Della Bici: London Dynamos STRONZO!!!!!!!!!! BASTA

2010-05-12T20:21:00.001+01:00

via lagazzettadellabici.blogspot.com

This story made me angry. I've been on the receiving end of this sort of nonsense in Richmond Park from these people. I'm an old lag, the victims this time were female newbies.

(caution; contains foul and abusive language that is entirely justified imo)

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The very lovely Daisy

2010-05-08T20:46:00.001+01:00

Who gets more beautiful every time I see her.

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Shutt Velo bib shorts short 'first impressions' review and pictures #cycling

2010-04-16T19:39:00.002+01:00

Now these are what you call seriously good value for money. The quality of the detailing and finishing is vastly superior to others I've looked at and none of the others I've seen, at a price I can afford and so am prepared to look at, have a "Made in Britain" tag in them. Normally I'll be wearing them over unpadded tights (dhb's since you ask) until the weather warms up a bit. Coolmax pads* (see comments below though) aren't for everyone, I've had other shorts with them in with no problem and given I ride 100km+ just fine in wearing only unpadded tights I know it will be fine. Comes from having a B17 shaped arse I guess.

They're a perfect match for my Team Jersey too.... ...photo's of that little beauty to follow, along with a review of how the whole ensemble works in practise. Watch this space.

See and download the full gallery on posterous

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Look what I won in the pub raffle!

2010-04-11T16:28:00.001+01:00

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Not too shabby for Helen

2010-04-11T16:00:00.001+01:00

B&B at Gallery 53 Hastings Old Town. Rather splendid. Now to find beer, will the Filo be open.

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Well well well.... a revolution revelation #cycling

2010-04-09T10:33:00.001+01:00

My first ride home on my new bike. An Edinburgh Bicycle Cooperative Revolution Track '10. An interesting little bike, currently set up as a single speed but with the option to flip the hub to turn it into a fixed. She's geared at 71" or thereabouts and has brakes front and rear which is unusual on a pseudo track / fixie bike and 25mm tyres. At some point I'll put her on the scales.

I've not ridden a fast, skinny, tyred road bike since about 1981. The ride home was much more comfortable than I expected it to be with only one 'pull your arms out of their sockets' climb to remind me that I need to do some core / upper body strength work in the gym. The saddle, well it isn't a Brooks, and I thought it looked like an instrument of torture but 10 mins in and I forgot it was there. It will do for now.

It is a very light bike, by the standards of the Team Collins stable, and every ounce of energy put through the pedals, Shimano mtb spds by the way, not standard, seems to get translated into forward motion. Even in singlespeed mode there is an immediacy and directness to the drive which is very pleasing. It is quiet, almost silent, and once in motion all you hear is the wind in your ears, and the car drivers of mid-Sussex fluffing their overtakes as they try to do 20mph in 5th gear.

All in all a lovely job. Some really bad pictures taken with a phone camera and shaky hands show the details and best bits.

See and download the full gallery on posterous

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The "Transport" Section of my local bookshop #cycling

2010-04-06T14:33:00.001+01:00

Four and a half shelves of books about cars and driving. Four books about cycling. Petrol prices on the up, we seem to still have our priorities mixed up.

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You didn't think I would eat the whole thing did you?

2010-04-05T18:10:00.001+01:00

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Simply stunning

2010-04-05T18:01:00.001+01:00

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They didn't have any small pizza bases !

2010-04-05T18:00:00.001+01:00

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The green 'un outside St. Botolph's Church Hardham

2010-04-05T15:17:00.001+01:00

Go on Google it you will see why I've come down here.

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The slushies @bunnylake made

2010-04-04T12:51:00.001+01:00

Hers is the big one on the left. Must tidy the coffee table and living room.

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La Gazzetta Della Bici: La Gazzetta Della Bici Sportswool Jerseys

2010-04-02T09:20:00.001+01:00

via lagazzettadellabici.blogspot.com

Got my name down to get me one of these. I love black cycling gear. (It's so slimming!) Want one too? Get over to http://lagazzettadellabici.blogspot.com/2010/04/la-gazzetta-della-bici-sports...

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Who is a tired boy then?

2010-03-27T13:57:00.001Z

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#FNRttC Turners Hill 05:13 am

2010-03-27T05:18:00.001Z

A well named spot

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@sam_wise will not be happy

2010-02-13T18:58:00.001Z

For years he wanted us to get a big silver TV. He moves out and we are given one! Sorry Sam, we still love you xxx

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A virtue from necessity - an ongoing search for the perfect shave Pt I

2010-01-25T12:28:00.001Z

via dovo.com

Every day I need to shave. In summer I may grow a small goatee or similar but I still need to shave the rest of my face and neck or I just look and feel scruffy.

It's a huge, boring, time wasting, chore....

A few months ago I began to reconsider. Could I make a virtue out of this daily necessity? Make it a bit of 'me' time perhaps at the start of the day. Then I came across the tweet that referred to a thread in a cycling forum all about the search for the elusive 'best' razor. Everyone's face is different so there are many different opinions. I've used a Remington Titanium Microfoil Electric Razor in the past, and a cheap Wilkinson Sword Double Edged (DE) safety razor, and packs of Bic Disposables, and, more recently, the ubiquitous Gillette Mach 3. All left me unsatisfied and with razor burn, ingrown hairs, nicks and soreness.

Then I discovered where I was going wrong. Not so much the wrong razor, though that was a factor, as the wrong technique, and, alongside poor technique, not seeing shaving as simply one step in a process of skincare. For Christmas I was treated, and it is a real, albeit fairly expensive, treat, to a new DE safety razor; the Merkur Futur seen above. A gorgeous, tactile, well engineered, made in Germany, hefty lump of a DE safety razor. I went for the satin finish one but they come polished as well for those that like that kind of finish.

A bit of web surfing suggested a few steps were necessary to using it for a great shave.

First, study your face in some detail and work up a mental map of the grain of your beard and then, never, ever, shave across the grain. Go with the flow.

Second, buy yourself some decent shaving / skincare products. A decent moisturising face wash, a good quality shaving cream and a good brush to apply it with, a good quality post shave balm and a clean new face flannel/towel. A good magnifying shaving mirror is also must if you want a good finish.

Here is 'System Greg' in its current form. Remember everything is provisional folks. I do the deed after taking a shower...

Wet your face with warm water.
Wash your face using a moisturising pre-shave face wash, NOT soap which will just dry your skin out, using a circular motion to lift the stubble and then rinse it with warm water.
Run your clean face flannel under a hot tap, only you can judge how hot is too hot btw, squeeze it out and apply the hot towel to your face for 30 seconds or so holding it in place over your stubble. This opens the pores, so they release the stubble, and makes for a smooth finish.
Splash some more water on your face and apply some shaving cream. Work it into the stubble and to a good lather with circular motions of a wet brush. You may dip the brush in water as often as you like.
Take your razor, with a good sharp blade, and shave using ONE pass, in smooth strokes following the grain of your beard.
Rinse the blade after each stroke - I spin the razor round to balance out the wear on the two blades.
When done have a good look in the mirror, did you miss any bits? If so dab your brush on the affected place and shave it. Don't ever, ever, ever put the blade to skin that doesn't have anything on it, that blade need lubrication.
Done? Good, rinse your face with cool water to close the pores and dab it, not rub it, dry with towel.
Apply some post-shave balm to the whole face. Stand back and admire your handiwork
Want to smell good? Be a girly-man not a macho-fool and apply the after shave you were given behind your ears and on the back of your neck. Theses hot spots will make it release it's aroma more than well enough. Better still stick to cologne, eau de toillette versions of your favourite fragrances and steer clear of aftershave entirely. Remember that stuff is mainly alcohol and whilst this can be good on the inside it isn't great on your outside.
You're done. Face the day knowing you look well groomed, clean shaven and smell good.

Part II coming soon... What products exactly.....?

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Twickers right now

2010-01-23T18:07:00.001Z

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#I love cycling & The Bike Song by The Grave Architects

2010-01-21T20:52:00.001Z

via youtube.com

@threefromleith brought this to my attention.

GENIUS.

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Stuff Happens - one Christian's perspective on Haiti

2010-01-20T14:14:00.002Z

In another place, actually the politics & life board of a cycling forum, I've been engaged in a discussion, at times it has turned into a debate, about a certain American pastor's comments on the causes of the Haiti earthquake. He made some connection between the earthquake and the Haitian forebears making a pact with the Devil. In short, their sinfulness brought it on their own heads. Maybe the man involved hasn't really digested the message of the end of Chapter 12 and beginning of Chapter 13 of Luke's Gospel.

In this life tragedies occur aka 'stuff happens'. Sometimes they are near at hand and our responses have to be pragmatic, useful and direct. Urgent and instinctive even. You don't discuss theology with a grieving parent, or debate philosophy with an orphan Often 'stuff happens' a long way away and we have no direct involvement but rather have an opportunity to pause and reflect. Sometimes 'stuff happens' intentionally by our own actions or the actions of others or indeed inactions, sometimes stuff has accidental, or inexplicable, or unpreventable causes which stem from the fact that we, and the world we live in, are not perfect. We are all broken, fallen, creatures living in a broken world. Regardless of the cause of any tragedy, individual or collective, we should never conclude that the tragedies are some sort of indicator of a divine judgement against against the victims or conclude that the victims deserved what happened because of their own wrong doing. That is not to say God may not exercise judgement on occasions but rather that is not for us to claim to be able to discern the Divine Will in these situations. If we do our listeners will hear us say "Look at them, those sinners, they have been punished. They got what they deserved. We have not been punished. We are blessed. We are not sinners or at least less worse sinners than them." Jesus had a lot to say to the people of his day who expressed these views. They were self-righteous hypocrites then and are self-righteous hypocrites today. Every time that sort of thinking enters my head and heart, as all to often it does, I find a private place and read Luke 12 & 13 again.

Despite working for an international charity I have no special knowledge of Haiti. I do know that some of our partners are missing at present. Apart from that all I know of the situation has come unbidden into my living room, via TV and radio, social media and newspaper report. I responded, practically, in the only ways I know how. I've made donations to the DEC and CAFOD. I've got on my knees and prayed for those affected by this disaster, for those on the ground offering assistance, and for the repose of the souls of those who died, and this is what entered my heart....

Life is an incredibly precious and fragile thing. We get one stab at it, this is not a dress rehearsal for the real performance. This life is it and we are all, one day, going to die. In the light of the fragility and uncertainty of life and the sheer unpredictability of the future, rather than looking at the victims of disaster and pointing the finger, or trying to explain or justify things as 'acts of God', we should each reflect on our own lives, resolve to put and keep them in order for the good of all, and try now, today, right this minute, to make redress for any harm we've done to date, and resolve to love God, the world and everyone and everything in it just as hard as we can. Because tomorrow may be too late, because it may turn out that we may not have a tomorrow.

Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. Jesus answered, "Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish

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Now that's what I call...

2010-01-14T14:43:00.001Z

a castle. Atmospheric Arundel earlier today.

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Signs of a thaw at Amberley Castle

2010-01-14T10:45:00.001Z

Up in the weald there is little sign of any warmth but a little further south ...

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Putting up a station platform poster

2010-01-14T10:07:00.001Z

So that is how they do it, all very clever and I've not seen it done this way before. Fascinating.

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Please save the Cyclists Touring Club

2010-01-13T15:10:00.001Z

via savethectc.blogspot.com

I'm a member of the CTC, have been off and on since the early 90's. I joined for the 3rd Party Insurance, the chance to rise with others in a non-competitive social style, for the excellent magazine, for the superb technical advice from the club and the ever splenetic Chris Juden, and for the wealth of information on routes and places to visit by bicycle. I even did a little bit of local rights of way protection volunteering for the CTC once upon a time.

Now more than half of the members subscriptions are going to fund the CTC Trust a charity formed a few years ago to campaign and undertake services on behalf of local and central govt. The tail now wants to wag the dog and subsume the Club into the Trust.

I shall be voting no against the special resolution to turn the CTC into a charity. Someone somewhere has misunderstood the point of why it is the largest cyclists MEMBERSHIP organisation in the country; and it isn't so it can do contract work for local and central government

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Snow joke

2010-01-13T12:02:00.001Z

Took 2 hours to drive to work today, passing several crashed cars along the way. Roads were very icy and office is nigh on deserted. But worth getting here for the views maybe?

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Three Brrrrrridges

2010-01-07T17:03:00.001Z

Cold but somehow they keep it all together and manage to run some sort of service. Well done Southern Railway et al.

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Oh Mr Porter what can can I do?

2010-01-07T08:43:00.001Z

Train has been replaced by a very slow bus and this is the view north as we go east. Looks to me like another band of snow off over the Surrey Hills en route to Sussex.

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The road to nowhere...

2010-01-06T13:02:00.001Z

... Well work actually

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Snowy Sussex Train Ride

2010-01-06T09:00:00.001Z

The view from the Balcombe Viaduct at speed. Southern Railway doing a great job today!

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A simple Christmas morning prayer

2009-12-27T16:37:00.001Z

Father God, thank You for sending us Jesus at Christmas.

with every compliment of this blessed season to everyone; have a great day wherever you are.

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The great glad tidings tell

2009-12-25T09:15:00.001Z

via stjohnsrcparishhorsham.blogspot.com

A much better picture, from the Parish blog of the Christmas Angels....

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I saw an angel tonight...

2009-12-24T21:15:00.001Z

Actually I saw several. A number of carved ones have appeared in strategic location around the Church but some genius flower arranger made two of the above. My rubbish skills as a photographer don't really do justice to these two installations at all.

A lovely Mass, great carol singing, a sermon that everyone from 4 to 94 could understand, and so good to see so many non-Catholic partners there with their Catholic other halves. The lovely Helen says she has never blessed so many people at communion.

In previous years, and for many years, I've gone back to sing at Midnight Mass, and then got up early to play bass at 0900 and/or 1100. But last year we got a new Parish Priest, the excellent Fr Terry Martin, and I decided in with the new priest out with the old ways. The new tradition thus established I'm staying home for the rest of the night, stuffing our turkey and getting a head start on other culinary tasks, hopefully lubricated with a nice chilled Fino sherry.

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Merry Christmas, and thank you

2009-12-24T16:13:00.001Z

So. The shopping is done. The family is gathered in the 'Sham although @sam_wise is temporarily AWOL nursing a monster hangover. The presents are wrapped and many of them are under the tree. The Christmas cards are hung on ribbons with golden painted wooden pegs; good call @bunnylake. The cards sent to our old address, just a few doors down from here, have been delivered by the lovely people who bought it from the people who bought it from us 8 years ago. The lovely Helen has been baking all day and is now out delivering mince pies to neighbours.

We are ready. About 18:00 we will set off for Church and give thanks to God for the birth, life, death and resurrection of the Christ.

So my thoughts turned to who else I needed to thank this year and who I should remember in my prayers this evening:

My family, for loving me despite the moods, and other ups and downs,

my work colleagues for working as a team with me in the lead and not lynching me along the way,

my friends old and new for the wine, beer and laughter we've shared,

the teams I've refereed at rugby, and the folk on the touchline who told me how rubbish I was,

the other referees who given me advice either in the flesh or in the forums at www.rugbyrefs.com,

the people I've played music or sung with, mostly only at Church this year as the bands have been in abeyance,

everyone at FNRttC for excellent company on what must be England's most eccentric cycling related activity

Matt for the Hell of Ashdown Forest, a ride I'll never forget

Simon and Michael for the South Downs Way, well 2/3rds of it anyway!

Everyone I've ever spoken to in Twitter, about rugby, playing bass, cycling or anything else; what an inspiring and impressive bunch you are.

So. There you are. A year enriched in all sorts of ways by all sorts of people.

However or wherever we've interacted this year, I'll light a candle and say a quiet word for each of you tonight. God bless you all and all whom you love.

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A carolling we shall go....

2009-12-23T15:35:00.001Z

On Sunday my dear friend F said she felt a big part of her Christmas ritual was missing. She wanted to go Christmas Carolling and would the lovely Helen and I care to join her and her husband D? The lovely Helen was a little apprehensive about the idea so we cloaked the venture in a veneer of respectability by deciding to collect money for my employers, a well known international charity. We agreed we would only go out for an hour or so and would visit some of the big houses on one of the roads out of our town

Around half past seven last night we set off. It was dark, it was very cold, and the pavements and roads were very icy. We decided against starting at the house of a local celebrity and D had the genius idea of kicking off at the home of a fellow parishioner so we were assured of a warm start. Such a start was duly given and with our confidence thus boosted we went from house to house.

We raised a little money, we learned some new carols along the way, or new arrangements of a few old favourites, and D and F have such lovely singing voices and are so clever at singing harmonies that we sounded much larger than we really were. Some of the porches on the houses also had amazing acoustics combined with the still cold night air that once or twice I thought to myself "We don't sound half bad!"

But what really left a lasting impression on me was the look on people's faces when the opened the door. Rather than us being an unwelcome intrusion we were greeted with beaming smiles and "How lovely, Carol singers! We haven't had carol singers in years" with whole families coming to the doorstep to hear us. One family even got the children out of bed, invited us in and asked us to sing "O Come all Ye Faithful" Which we gladly did whilst exchanging a few panic stricken glances, it wasn't on the sheets we had prepared; it turns out each person needs to memorise the first line of one verse and then everyone follows on and the words come back without any effort. Just that first line.

The evening ended with mulled wine, and beer and ham and cheeses and as usual with F and D great conversation.

So if you are struggling to find the Spirit of Christmas, or if you've already found it but are struggling to share it; GO CAROL SINGING. You get back so much more than you put into it.

God bless us! God Bless us everyone!

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One Refugee in Brighton

2009-12-22T11:59:00.001Z

via marymagdalen.blogspot.com

I found this on the splendid Parish blog of St Mary Magdalen Church in Brighton. The Parish Priest there, Fr. Ray Blake, was assistant priest at St. John the Baptist in Brighton when the lovely Helen and I settled there after marriage. Fr Ray does an amazing balancing act, a man who loves Liturgy, is a supporter and frequent celebrant of the Latin Mass whilst retaining a flair for social activism. There aren't many priests about who manage to honour both in equal measure.

Momo, whom this video is about, is a visitor to Fr Ray's Parish house. Asylum seekers aren't restricted to our cities, like Brighton & Hove, but can be found everywhere.

Let's remember Momo and everyone like him in our prayers this Christmas, recalling the journey of the Holy Family, fleeing to refuge in Egypt. Mary Joseph and the child Jesus had 'well founded fear of persecution'.

If they turned up today in my town what sort of welcome would they face? An unmarried couple, teenage mother, a much older 'father', something isn't right, their story doesn't add up. They don't speak my language properly, they don't share my culture, their values are different to mine, they don't share my religion. Some far fetched tale about facing death at home that doesn't sound too credible. Aliens, foreign, on the take, looking for a handout, scroungers, economic migrants?

Lord God, by Your Holy Spirit and in the name of Jesus our Lord and Saviour, help me to see the face of the Christ-child in every stranger I meet today and everyday. Give me a heart of compassion for all Your poor and dispossessed, all those who find themselves as strangers in a strange land. Still the voices within me that ask 'do they deserver?' and 'are they worthy?'. Give me the strength to give and not count the cost of giving. To love without fixing a price on love. In His Holy name. Amen

St Joseph, pray for us.
Mary, mother of the Christ, pray for us.
St Nicholas, pray for us.

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Christmas is coming

2009-12-19T12:42:00.001Z

Off to shop for ma in laws home made hamper today. She gives it all away n the end!

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The view at the office

2009-12-18T09:45:00.001Z

Is pretty and pretty amazing this morning. The downside is it makes our grounds an H & S nightmare!

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Snow joke in Horsham

2009-12-17T23:18:00.001Z

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A sign of the times for BA staff

2009-12-16T16:54:00.001Z

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Horsham comes good and puts up more lights

2009-12-16T16:51:00.001Z

Cllr Scrooge and Cllr Marley of the Humbug Party must have been stung by the criticism in the national press. They've only gone and put more lights up. Well done the 'sham for times are hard and people need their spirits lifted.

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Grab yourself an early Christmas present - Free Music from Steve Lawson

2009-12-15T12:20:00.002Z

http://stevelawson.bandcamp.com/album/behind-every-word">Blue Planet by Steve Lawson
via solobasssteve.posterous.com
Steve Lawson isn't just a great musician, a superb teacher, a social media genius, a husband and a recent Dad. He's also one of the kindest and gentlest of the lovely people on this good Earth. So kind and generous he's giving us all the chance to download his new album for free. Gratis. Without charge. Though if you want to press pictures of the Queen into his hands he won't say no; an extra mouth to feed and all that.
Simply put Steve writes the music for the soundtrack for the day you WISHED you'd had. Gorgeous, multi-textured, subtle music that can transport you to another place as you relax in its embrace. And he writes and plays it all himself on his bass. I've no idea why he isn't a household name, except that, of course, in our house he is.
Download it, your ears, and your soul, will thank you.

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The Collins Family Christmas Tree 2009

2009-12-13T20:34:00.001Z

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Greek Rocket War at Easter

2009-12-06T22:42:00.001Z

via youtube.com

Now I belong to a pretty dynamic and lively Roman Catholic parish here in Horsham. At Easter we do the whole bonfire and candles routine and do it well, the church looks amazing when only lit by candles. But nothing we do holds a candle (ouch!) to this spectacle.
I wonder if Fr Terry would let us launch some rockets from the church car park...?

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Duck!

2009-12-06T13:03:00.001Z

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Our poorly house guest slumbers

2009-12-02T16:41:00.001Z

Bunnylake is head nurse of our tonsilitus striken visitor

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Remember remember the end of Movember

2009-11-30T21:38:00.001Z

Shaving cream, water that's hot. A fresh shiny razor, shaves close as a laser, my moustache is forgot!

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Moustache Sexiness Timeline Cartoon | Savage Chickens - Cartoons on Sticky Notes by Doug Savage

2009-11-30T16:36:00.001Z

via savagechickens.com

Will be so glad to shave mine off!

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My tweetcloud - @Greg_Collins | tweet cloud

2009-11-30T13:29:00.001Z

via tweetcloud.icodeforlove.com

All far too positive to be me surely. I have a grumpy old man reputation to protect.

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Tis the last day of Movember - meet Adenoid Hynkeland

2009-11-30T12:43:00.002Z

"My name is Adenoid Hynkeland I wish to lead the people of Osterlich and all of Tomania into etc., etc.."

Looks like I may be awarded a medal for top fundraising effort in our Mo Team, so I may as well go for the 'Facial Hair with Most Striking Resemblance to that of a 20th Century Dictator and War Criminal" prize too!

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It's offical - I've been promoted

2009-11-26T12:39:00.000Z
My second full season as a rugby referee ended in April this year when I tweaked some knee ligaments in a 7's tournament. Somehow I'd gone a whole season without being formally assessed so I ended at the same level, Level 11 - and smaller numbers are better, as I started.

This season's campaign started well, by reffing three games a week you get to take part in an awful lot of rugby, with generally better quality stuff on Wednesday afternoon or Sunday morning than the fat lads manage on a Saturday afternoon. But never mind the quality feel the width. The reality is that the fat lads at L15 - L11 present way more challenges in terms of management than I ever encounter elsewhere. These teams are made up of vets and novices. The latter are clueless and the former clued up - in the arts of cheating!

I asked to be assessed and lo and behold the response was swift, at my very next game, a few weeks back, a very experienced Federation level assessor was despatched to see me take part in a L12 knockout game. The feedback, sort the chat and sort the breakdown otherwise good. Couldn't disagree; I've been way too tolerant of these boys and their ways of a Saturday and it showed. But the assessor commented that at L10 I've probably topped out. More of that later. "But" said I, "I'm a level 11". "Oh no you're not" says he, and to avoid a certain pantomime exhange we agreed to check back.

Yesterday I got the written confirmation from the Chair of the Assessors. I was promoted to L10 at the end of last season, it seems on the basis of 'mentions in despatches'. But no one told me, or the Appointment Secretary. Who cares, we both know now and my appointments for the next few weeks reflect this.

As to the 'topping out'. I'm not sure how an assessor can assess potential. I'm going to work hard on nipping forechat and backchat in the bud, and have raised the bar on what I'm accepting at the breakdown in these games; easy to do I just apply my Weds/Sun standard to the games on Saturday. I'll consolidate this over the next months and hopefully I'll confound his expectations; next season I intend to start by posing the question "what do I have to do to reach Level 9?"

But for now, happy days, I'm in spitting distance of reffing at the level I played at which is the goals I set myself when I started out.

Itchy and Scratchy Movember

2009-11-26T08:36:00.001Z

We have raised over 1000 quid which isnt bad is it?

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Up above the streets and castles

2009-11-25T09:55:00.001Z

On arrival in Arundel this morning I was cheered up by this.

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Sihanua slumbers

2009-11-21T15:56:00.001Z

Sihanua is the daughter of lovely Estelle and the lovely Mugeni friends from way back. Estelle and I went to uni in Lampeter a long time ago.

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Not every day you ref Oxford University

2009-11-18T16:52:00.001Z

thank goodness

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Tis the 16th of Movember

2009-11-16T18:53:00.001Z

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Saturday night was party night...

2009-11-16T17:46:00.003Z

Last Saturday we celebrated my mother-in-law Theresa's 80th birthday in some considerable style with a four course black tie dinner and dancing to a Céilidh band, followed by a splendid d-i-y iPod Disco until late. Actually very, very, and in some cases, VERY, late. For which I blame Robert for putting such a superb mix together that it played for several hours and every one was a winner. Who needs a DJ?
Superb meal and even better wines, especially the Clos De La Cure Grand Cru, (ha, ha) and lots and lots of pink champagne, and I drank them out of Fernet Branca. Actually not that hard, they only had one and a bit measures of it to be fair. A very nice Drambuie on the rocks as a nightcap. I stopped drinking just in time I think as I knew I was having to get up at 08:00 on Sunday to go and referee a rugby match. I missed breakfast which I understand was rather good too! Second best party I have ever been to, and the best was my own wedding reception donkey's years ago!
I even got to dance with Mummy, as she is known, but can't remember if it was to "The Siege of Ennis", "The Waves of Tory" or "The Walls of Limerick" or some other such Irishness. It involved going over and under quite a bit so my money on is the waves one. We sang along to "The Wild Mountain Thyme" and "Whiskey in the Jar" and "The Fields of Athenry" was played at the request of the lovely Helen. The highlight of the evening was the "for one night only" reunification of Team Collins as Sam came back from London, straight from work, for the night. Here the team is pictured wishing Mummy a Happy Birthday whilst we were still properly compos mentis. What handsome children I have; clearly they get both their good looks and talent from their mother!
A superb evening. Thanks to at Ghyll Manor and to Matt Jago for giving up his evening to come take the photo's.

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Suited and booted

2009-11-14T16:56:00.001Z

Bur will I pass muster?

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The 14th of Movember 2009

2009-11-14T13:32:00.001Z

Gentlemen it is not too late to join us in raising awareness of prostate cancer by growing a dodgy tash. The bizarre mottled red and white complexion is not compulsory. See http://uk.movember.er.com for details

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Free toffee now where is my toffee hammer?

2009-11-14T12:42:00.001Z

The lovely people at Walkers Nonsuch Ltd. have sent me some free toffee for filling in a web survey. How cool is that?

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Meanwhile in Movember

2009-11-12T20:40:00.002Z

the tache keeps growing.

The badly framed picture highlights the lack of a self portrait mirror on the back of the Samsung H1
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Thoughtful detailed Vodafone 360 H1 review from Know Your Mobile

2009-11-12T20:24:00.001Z

Vodafone 360 H1 info

Typical price: Free on £35 a month contract

Latest Vodafone 360 H1 Prices

Pros:
Lovely OLED screen
LiMo is a real altervative to Android
16GB storage
Wi-Fi
3.5mm jack

Cons:
Unresponsive touchscreen
Limited apps selection
360 service isn't a must-have

Verdict: The Vodafone 360 H1's impressive feature set is hampered by crucial niggles - most importantly that the touchscreen's not responsive enough

Rating:

More info: Vodafone website

via knowyourmobile.com

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chunky chicken to get blue teeth

2009-11-12T15:08:00.001Z
Much the embarrassment of my children and the discomfiture of my wife I
choose to drive around in the ultimate anti-car, an elderly black Fiat
Cinquecento. Who needs more? 95% of the time I'm the only person in it,
it gives superb mileage, I bought it off eBay (yes seriously I won it in
an auction from a dodgy dealer in Essex) and it's only mod con is a
remote boot release. It has wind up windows and I can park it in our
front yard. The back seat will take one or more electric basses
lengthways, the boot takes my amp, and my cab, and my gig bag with ease.
I don't bother taxing it in the summer as then I cycle to and from work
and it cost me less than any of my bicycles did. Sometimes it doubles
as a referees changing room, oft times it has a skip load of trash, gym
kit, banana skins, empty drinks bottles and other sports related
detritus swilling about inside. The front seat is perfect for putting
my kit bag on so I can check it when I have one of those "!OMG did I
pack my boots/shorts/shirt/whistles/etc.." moments en route.
But now the chunky chicken is going all 21st century on me. I'm going
to put a Bluetooth hands free unit in it as I keep getting caught out
and missing calls whilst I am driving. I thought this was likely to be a
major hassle until I discovered that hands free kits now clip to your
sun visor. Brilliant. So as I type a Supertooth Visor One Bluetooth
Handsfree Kit is winging its way to me from those nice people at Amazon.
They weren't the cheapest for the kit but my Amazon Prime membership
gives free delivery which meant it was cheaper from them than anyone
else I would trust my debit card details to. If it works only half as
well as the blurb indicates it will be a Godsend. Every Saturday
evening, when driving home from some distant rugby match, I get a call
from someone telling me my game on Sunday morning is off and I've been
re-appointed elsewhere so it should reduce a bit of stress there too.
Watch this space for how well it works with the Samsung H1 and Sony
Ericsson C702
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Sussex Uni IIs 0 (0) vs (0) 10 Pompey Uni IVs

2009-11-11T19:18:00.002Z
Every so often in a community ref's season a game comes along which reminds you why you picked up the whistle and a law book in the first place. Today I reffed that game. A whole division lower than the BUSA games I normally do but no quarter asked and none given. OK the skill levels were not huge but these boys set out to make the most of what they had and they played for the sheer joy of our beautiful game. Sure I had to read the riot act to the front rows early doors, sure I had to bin the Pompey flanker with 90 secs to go. But so what, both front rows said 'great game sir' in the tunnel as did several other players including both captains. Then in the bar the binned 6 came over and apologised! 'A fair cop I deserved it' he said. I even got my expenses without having to chase a student all over campus. A very good day in the office.
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Samsung H1 and Vodafone 360

2009-11-10T14:16:00.003Z

I like my tech; and I like a little bit of edgy eccentricity so as soon as Vodafone announced 360 was coming along with the new Samsung H1 phone I registered my interest. I held off getting an upgrade to my existing Sony Ericsson C702 (hereafter known as the #failfone) and as soon as the H1 hit the street I was down the Vodafone shop quicker than a rat goes up a drain pipe.

Samsung H1

It's a nice touch phone running LiMo2. It is a bit plasticy and like all touch phones the screen attracts greasy marks but it sits in the hand well, the vibration to confirm you've selected something is gently pleasing, the screen is nice and bright… .oh and I love the way the bottom of the phone lights up when you have a new message. My only complaint is that the OS and applications are not very intuitive or consistent. In some situations when adding new information to click a 'tick' to finish, in others you click 'back'. In others still clicking 'back' dumps what you've entered and starts over. Changing the ring tone took me a good 5 goes to achieve whilst I tried to figure what I'd done wrong. RTFM you all shout. "What effing manual?" I cry in reply. The one you can download is lightweight and contains almost no detail. Fair play Vodafone do have some twinky little videos on the 360 site but it isn't immediately obvious which video covers which feature of the phone. But after a week's use I love the H1.

I'm less enamoured with the New PC Studio software shipped especially for the H1. Doesn't work at all on one PC of mine - simply refuses to recognise the phone is connected to the PC in any meaningful way. On my work PC it works fine but the synching of my Outlook Calendar with that on the phone is far from seamless or reliable.

The phone has wifi and Bluetooth; both work fine though configuring a favourite wifi connection is a little quirky. One thing you don't appear to be able to do via wifi is download music from the Vodafone shop. To do this you must be logged into 360 and this seems to force the downloads via the 3G connection so is a bit slow and frankly flaky. With an H1 on 360 you get used to error messages "Sorry the service is not available" most of which are fixed by turning the phone off and on again like a dodgy Windows PC.

Vodafone 360

A great idea, badly executed. Or should I say executed to meet a launch date. Facebook integration is good; twitter is still in beta it seems. Worthwhile applications for 360 and the H1 are still very thin on the ground. No doubt adoption of 360 will increase over the coming months as cheaper phones like the M1 ship and existing Vodafone subscribers sign up on their current phones. As it stands not one of my, albeit few, contacts is a 360 user. So my jury is still very much out.

As a package the H1 on 360 is great if you like your social media on the move, and will be improved when full Twitter integration comes along. Is anyone at Tweetdeck working on a LiMo client I wonder?

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Perfect for posting online

2009-11-10T14:16:00.001Z

We will see if posterous can deliver on its promises unlike some of the tech I've started using recently

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The things we do for love...

2009-09-11T19:30:00.002+01:00

of the game of rugby union. A small selection of the things I take to the match apart from my kit. Yes, a silly number of pencils, by the end of the reason most will have been given away to fellow refs. All found in 15 minutes which is not bad after several months is it?

Lying upstairs on the bed awaiting ironing, yes referees do iron their kit, are my three society strips. Little bit of research to do to determine what tomorrow's teams are likely to be wearing so I don't clash and try to get contrasting socks to the teams so no one takes me out at ruck or maul. Sort of looking forward to it, usual pre-match mix of nerves and excitement with the added spice of first game of the season for me and new Laws and law interpretations to ref to.

Bearing in mind last season ended a month early with ripped PCL LCL i'm hoping the pace wont be too fast tomorrow and the weather hot enough to demand water breaks. Will have to do a thorough warm up, and warm down. don't expect to be able to walk to well on Sunday - always the same for the first few games.

Who I follow in the twitterverse

2009-09-11T15:51:00.001+01:00

Get your twitter mosaic here.

some I love, some I like, some I admire. All worth following in my view.

Another day in the office

2009-09-11T10:09:00.002+01:00

The first thing I check on arriving at work is this line of monitors, there are a couple more just out of shot - they show the status of the internet connections for some of our offices around the world, are they up, are they down, how much traffic is going back and forth. Very useful.

But to think that just a few short years ago this was in the realms of science fiction - the world is becoming a very interconnected place. Over breakfast I was 'chatting' to a colleague in Milan and there are emails in my inbox from 8 different countries in Africa right now.

Have we even started to think creatively about how we might exploit this connectedness to do some good, to make a change for the better?

Some people are. Take Dr Sue Black whom some of you may have seen or heard on breakfast TV or the radio this morning. She's using social media networks like twitter and others to rally people to the cause of saving Bletchley Park, the home of computing. Some claim much of what goes on on twitter is just babble. Sure some of it is, as is much of normal human person-to-person communication, after all we are highly social animals. But there are some real quality exchanges on there too, links to interesting blogs, announcements about events, requests for prayers, new friendships being forged, old friendships being rekindled, and small communites of interest forming about issues where people empower each other to take actions or share experiences.

So folks, how will you use your social network, physical or virtual, today to make a difference towards a better world?

Tired Legs

2009-09-06T16:14:00.001+01:00

And who can blame them.

Cream Tea

2009-09-06T15:06:00.001+01:00

Ministry of Crap design tea pot

Happy Man

2009-09-06T15:00:00.001+01:00

Ride over. In tea room by river in Arundel. Cake and tea gives one such an enormous sense of well being. Major tingling from all the nettle stings on every limb.

The M27 of its day

2009-09-06T14:59:00.002+01:00

Stane Street, that ridge you can see is the roman road, here covered by grass. Elsewhere you can walk or ride on the actual Roman road surface. Amazing.

As you crest the ridge heading south the spire of Chichester Cathedral comes into view directly in front of you. The Cathedral is built slap bang on top of the Roman basilica of Noviomagus

Where? Part 2

2009-09-06T13:21:00.001+01:00

But I only did Greek at college.

Where?

2009-09-06T13:20:00.001+01:00

They even speak Latin round here.

Bignor Hill

2009-09-06T13:19:00.001+01:00

So we go down and then we in up.

Part One done

2009-09-06T12:25:00.000+01:00

River side rumble over now we climb like birds to the top me Bignor Hill. 2 dabs 0 offs lots of mettle stings

Pour Le Dessert

2009-08-24T16:14:00.001+01:00

Covent Garden on our 24th wedding anniversary. Thank you God for 24 years of blessings.

Splitter!

2009-08-23T12:46:00.001+01:00

When tyres split mid ride tape is the only answer.

Gospel Pass

2009-08-16T14:55:00.001+01:00

Oh dear God what a climb

To Hell with it...

2009-07-27T17:57:00.002+01:00
It has been a while. I've been a bit busy cycling

Saturday came and Saturday went on a little ride....

Train from home to Gatwick Airport where I met up with MattJ from work and used the FNRttC patented Gatwick Airport escape route to join the B2036 road to the east. We twiddled our way over to Dormansland for 07:50, legs nicely loosened by the warm morning sun and off we went. Almost immediately we missed a turn (not on the route card we'd cut n pasted from the Hell of Ashdown website) and continued on blissfully unawares eventually hitting the A264 on the outskirts of East Grinstead rather than considerably further east as planned. Ho hum we said and turned ourselves around. Back to Dormansland, back on route past the delightful Furnace Pond and over to Holtye Common. Cross country to Hartfield and a bit of a climb up Gallipot Hill took us to Colemans Hatch and the dreaded climb that is "The Wall". My joy was almost unabated when I scalped the younger fitter slimmer of the two cyclists we saw in front of us as he honked on his high end Spesh Allez. The sight of me twiddling past whilst seated on a tourer was almost more than he could bear. MattJ set off in pursuit of his mate and apparently said mate's face was a picture when told we were heading, ultimately, to Biggin Hill far to the north of the current climb on which we were heading due south. The Wall duly, if sweatily breached, the down hill followed as night followed day. Far too much loose stuff and too many pot holes to really let rip but 62khp, sans pedalling, was attained to put a smile on my face. Somehow we misplaced Groombridge where we had intended to stop for a coffee and ended up on the Col de Groombridge where once again age defeated beauty as Matt (20 years younger than me) launched off the front with the zest of an English Contrador to gain the summit in advance of me. I'd set my goal as one of not using the granny ring on my triple and I'm pleased to say I stuck to it all day and managed most of my climbing seated; albeit at a slightly slower lick than young Matt.

Crossing the A264 again, and now heading north we entered the 'gentle' undulations of the Weald by way of Langton Green and all points north. We speculated on the idea of an early (pub) lunch at Ide's Hill but were frustrated by our arrival there at 11:30 with the pub doors firmly shut. The tiny village shop took our custom instead and a lovely hour was spent in the sun on the green, munching sarnies, and drinking water and watching the world, and several cyclists, go by. The less said about the road to Sunridge the better. Saturday lunchtime drivers rushing to the M25 and a road surface put to shame by bridleways in Sussex made it hard going. Eventually the M25 was crossed and Star Hill loomed. As a hill it is a decent enough climb but the volume of traffic it carries made for one of the less fun ascents of the day, one SAAB estate missed me by millimetres.

Up and over Knockholt and into the loop at the northern end of the route, Church Hill at Cudham? You're having a laugh! But we made it up and over unscathed and the descent into Brasted back over the motorway was frankly awesome and we entered the village bang opposite a great little cafe called 96 degrees. Great place to sit in the sun and stuff yourself with tea and scones and jam.

Toys Hill - to be honest you're not all that. Long yes, but not that steep. So there. The run back to Dormansland via Edenbridge is mainly flat with what climbs there are being right up my street, long, not steep, big ring stomps and we tackled it flat out. Shaking hands at Dormansland the bike computer says we'd done 115km in 5:28 of cycling, with stops it had taken something under 8 hours on the day. Matt decides he will cycle home to Lindfield whereas discretion is it the better part of valour for me so we part company as I stamp on the pedals all the way back to Gatwick where my return rail ticket could stop burning a hole in my pocket.

Hell? In the winter very probably. On a gorgeous July Saturday? Just like heaven.

140km in total (110 in Hell) with 1880m of climbing

2009-06-16T16:54:00.002+01:00

So

cutter #1 is for spokes
#2 is for inners and outers
#4 is for crimping end caps and
#5 is for crimping ferrules