One particular Bristol resident doesn't think much of cyclists. In a letter to the Bristol Evening Post, he writes:
You can read the full rant letter here. The comments (164 when I visited the site) are definitely worth a look.
[Via the CTC newsletter]
I started off this week with a new goal in mind: to cycle at least four times a week for the rest of the year. I was also going to try my hardest to cycle every single week day in June.
Alas, these plans have already fallen by the wayside. Didn't take long, did it?
Turns out I have another chest infection -- and there's also the possibility that I have asthma. My doctor has prescribed some antibiotics and an inhaler. I'm to go back in 8 weeks for a proper asthma test, as he's not sure whether it's simply linked to the infection or whether it's a separate, ongoing problem I need to deal with.
Whatever the case, I'm feeling bummed by it all. But I'm determined to get back on the bike early next week. I must, however, invest in a face mask. Anyone got any tips for the best brand to try?
After eight months or more of intermittent flank pain, I went to the doctor who advised me to stop riding the bike for a month to see if that might alleviate it, because he suspects it might be muscular. Alas, I stop riding and the pain gets worse. After almost a week of constant niggling pain, I decided to ride the bike this morning because maybe the exercise would help. And you know what? It did. There was no pain while riding and, furthermore, I sat comfortably in my office chair all day and did not feel the usual discomfort. I've arrived home and can only just feel a dull ache, but nowhere near as bad as it has been over the past 10 or so days. I will see how I feel tomorrow and make my own judgement call as to whether riding the bike is the cause of my backache or my salvation.
Total distance: 12.16 miles | Ride time: 1hr, 11min and 46sec | Average speed: 10.79mph | Top speed: 19.8mph
I love this spoof story.
I got my bike serviced at Evans Cycles today. I know I could have probably done the job myself -- or convinced my Other Half to do it for me -- but I simply don't have the time (or inclination) to get my hands dirty. Sheesh, I can't even find the energy to do the housework these days.
Riding home on a freshly cleaned and oiled and properly aligned bike felt terrific. I practically glided all the way and felt so confident I took the outside lane down Kensington High Street, passing motorised traffic limping along in the lane on my left. Suckers, I thought!
Hopefully, an easy-to-ride stead coupled with daylight savings (which kicks off this weekend) may just encourage me to ride more than I have been doing these past 10 or so months. Let's face it, I could do with the exercise.
Please note: no ride statistics today, because I forgot to reset my bike computer.
Martin Uttley from the advertising agency Engine Group sent me the above video today. It's part of a new Transport for London campaign designed to test people's visual awareness on the road. It makes a vital point about "change blindness" in quite a clever way.
I "did the test", so to speak, and I'm afraid I failed dismally -- and I normally regard myself as a very observant person!
How did you do?
It was too damn stormy to cycle to work this morning, so instead of regaling you with tales of my normal Monday commute, let me tell you about my recent visit to the British Cycling Museum.
The museum is in north Cornwall -- one mile north of Camelford on the B3266 Boscastle Road, to be precise. It's basically an old railway station that's been covered over and converted into one rather large building. From the outside it doesn't look like much...
But step inside and it's like a magical Aladdin's Cave!
According to journalist and former Conservative politician Matthew Parris the answer is cyclists. In this article published in the Times on Thursday he suggests decapitating cyclists by stringing piano wire across country lanes.
I quite like Matthew Parris whenever he's on the BBC TV series Grumpy Old Men, but for some strange reason I've now gone completely off him.
Remember my post about the unicycle I saw on my commute? Well, it seems unicyclists are also taking to the streets of Manhattan.
One word. Mad.
I know a lot of cyclists lust after bikes, but this story -- from tonight's thelondonpaper -- about a Scotsman, is simply ridiculous:
A man caught trying to have sex with his bicycle was given three years' probation and placed on the Sex Offenders Register. Robert Stewart, 51, was convicted of sexually aggravated breach of the peace after cleaners at his hostel in Ayr found him half naked and simulating sex with the bike. Sheriff Colin Miller told him: "I thought I had come across every perversion known to mankind but... I have never heard of a 'cycle-sexualist'." Stewart had blamed a misunderstanding caused by drink.
Which begs the question, how many pints would you need to have consumed before thinking it might be a good idea to shag your bike?
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