Just a few videos (Velo)

My wife has instructed me to stay in bed today. I had an para-umbilical hernia operation on Saturday. So i've just been chilling watching random cycling stuff from the web! here are a few gems which made me smile! 

Lois Malle Film "Vive le Tour" 1960's

 Le Velo, back then!

Le velo Now!

My boy Gregory drifting on a Fixie, love it!

Not a natural winner??? (blog post)

This year I have won a Zipvit Tri suit, a £50 wiggle voucher and some Haribo goodies I even managed a first place in a marathon team relay at a recent event.

What is going on???

 On a personal level, it’s not winning but almost. I recently applied for a college course. As part of the application process I was asked to sit an online literacy and numeracy test. Anyone who reads this, or previous posts will know that my literacy skills are not the best. I mean, you should see how many red squiggles are on this page now, before I hit the spell-check button! Anyway, I spent two to three days studying/refreshing my math and English skills, and after a stressful few hours I passed the tests with higher scores than I expected. That feeling of accomplishment is awesome.

 I know life balances out. This is one of my firm beliefs. You just have to view it with perspective. To say “you win some, you lose some” may feel like a cop out, but really, that is it!

I used to wonder why I never won anything, though the reality is that I have been a winner all my life. I don’t mean for that to sound as wanky as it does. What I mean is, I have a good life, my wife is my best friend, my kids stress me out sometimes, but they are great kids. I have had employment all of my working life, my parents are enjoying their retirements. I have a roof over my head (admittedly, a massive never-ending mortgage). All these things and more add up to, in my mind, a win.

 I may bitch on Twitter and Facebook about my running/cycling/triathlon training. I’ll complain about not racing due to this hernia thing. But that is not ALL my life. I have perspective.

 I have said before, I am looking forward to 2012. I can’t wait to see what it brings personally, academically and *sportingly. 

 

....touch wood! :-)

 

*is that a word?

Ex hire wetsuit

Bit of a deal really.
Just received 2 ex-hire wetsuits which I had purchased from Tri UK. They are FOOR Classics rrp £99. I picked them up for £50 each (sweet). Get in there quick if they have any left. My one fits perfectly and is in great condition. The one I got for my wife looks unused. I just need to learn to swim now :o)

See the full gallery on Posterous

Just thought i'd share that with you!

A few photos from my ride this morning #Suffolk #Ipswich

See the full gallery on Posterous

Think this is the one and only hill in East Anglia. Semer.

....It is pretty much flat around here though.

.....But beautiful

I avoided the rain too thankfully. 

http://www.dailymile.com/people/brix2tri/entries/8955975 

802279-cycling-route-in-ipswich-gb.gpx Download this file

 

Racing is life. Anything before or after is just waiting...

I love running and cycling, a bit too much sometimes. I can bore the pants off most people talking about bikes, rides, triathlons and running races. I try to see as many races as I can via Eurosport, ITV4, channel4 and online. I fill my sky+ box up with more than enough obscure adventure races, triathlons and athletic meets from around the world.

The problem is… I ain’t done shit this year. Well I did the Brighton Marathon back in April, which I loved, but since then, not much. I mean to say, I have done a couple of 100k rides, Suffolk Sunrise and the Tour of Britain ride. But my issue here is that these were not done at race pace, or anything close to race pace. These were more social. Just opportunities to get my wife to myself for a few (6) hours :-). 

Yes I know that these are still massive achievements in themselves, but I wanted more from 2011. Back in April, just before the marathon, I found out that I had an Umbilical Hernia. It has not giving me any trouble whatsoever. However, the good old NHS have had me hanging around waiting for this op for yonks. I am going to blame this for my reluctance to train. Or sign up for any races. I just want the op done so I can get on with stuff.

It is always tricky when you are unsure what your own future holds for you. Even my plan for Ironman 70.3 in Ireland looks like it may have to be shelved, due to the age old triathlete question.... Race fees VS family holiday! Admittedly we have not had a proper family holiday for a while. And will be much needed.

Steve McQueen said "Racing is life. Anything before or after is just waiting"  This is true of my sporting persona. Though thankfully I also know there is more to life than racing. Outside of sport, training and racing all is good. Better than good actually. That will come in another blog post soon. For now. L8RZ