I have just stepped out of the shower, looked in the mirror, and received a solid reminder that I am not getting any younger. I won't elaborate on the specific vision that told me this, but it is an inescapable fact that I am getting older, and I am afraid that goes for you too! …
Sound’s good for me
Can you hear that? Nothing. Not a sound. Not a dripping tap, a singing bird, or a snoring dog in her bed under my desk. I really don’t do silence very well at all. Fortunately, or perhaps consequentially, I am very fond of music. So whenever I am not engaged in a particular task that …
A damn good thrashing…
My bike is taking an absolute battering at the moment. Water, mud, sand, salt and every other bit of junk that you can imagine is rather upsettlingly flicking up off the road into it's sensitive parts - and nobody wants that. The amount of 'foreign objects' that I wash off the bike at the end …
Time Well Spent
It’s really interesting, to me at least, that we can know something is really good for us, and yet we don’t do it, forget to do it, or allow life to dictate our rhythms, routines and 'to do' lists such that the things that are really good for us are sacrificed with disturbing frequency. Equally, …
Addicted? Possibly.
I had been preparing my next gabble as a homage to how miserable the last 2 weeks have been, both in the real world and on my bike. As I read it back to myself, it didn't so much dawn on me, as punch me squarely in the face that I was getting sucked into …
Saving Up…
I’ve got a problem. It doesn’t require a screwdriver, or any tools for that matter, as it can’t be fixed… it’s not that sort of problem. Though I am certainly experienced at creating that sort of problem. Seven years ago I flirted with catastrophe (and possibly death) when I drilled through my house's mains gas …
Jaffa Cake, anyone?
We're often told to only worry about what we can control. It's an admirable, if not truly important quality, in particular at these most challenging of recent times. Thinking back to this time last year, I was amidst my own, not insignificant, meltdown. And yet, not even in my wildest apocalyptic visions of how the …
The Summer of Love
I would think it a reasonably safe bet that there are few people reading this (or not reading this), that are going to be sorry to see the back of 2020. Clearly we all have a common and not insignificant factor in our level of appreciation for this year (COVID-19) but then I, as I …
When is a Jersey a Jacket?
As I sit looking out of my window, on this blowy, grey and wet Monday lunchtime, it is clear that winter is well and truly upon us. From my weekend rides, it is also equally clear that the number of cyclists actually out on the road has reduced substantially from the first COVID lockdown fuelled …
Ready, Fire, Aim…
There is an elephant in the room, ‘The Gabbling MAMIL’. (My wife actually just checked with me what MAMIL meant… I’m not sure she’s convinced by the name, but I think it’s perfect) Gabbling – to talk rapidly and unintelligibly (though I’ll do my best to manage this) MAMIL – Middle Aged Man In Lycra (I’m a cyclist, and …
The Gabbling MAMIL 