Saturday, January 31, 2009

Happy 牛 Year!

It's been some 15 days since my last post, sorry, and in my defence I have been really busy.
Had the UCI World Cup, Chinese New Year and then my day to celebrate one more year closer to my natural death day! Yay (birthday)
So whilst I get myself sorted, I've got a couple of pics for you, from the Velodrome.
Track racing, is supposed to be about speed, so here's a couple of pics of some speed machines

Thursday, January 15, 2009

pain

In life, we encounter, if planned or not, pain. Some people like pain, depending on what form it takes.
Emotional pain, I would say is one of the hardest to endure. Being (trying) a competitive cyclist, or in the fact that my plans this year include a 24hour Solo race, I have to learn to live with pain. Physically and psychologically.

When pushing my heart rate towards the upper end of it's range, I can do this, and hold it for some time. The pain that is rushing through my body, the burn in the legs, my lungs gasping at the very edge of Oxygen debt, this I can push back to outer edge of my helmet cladded head and pursue with the task in hand.

Today, I came across a different type of pain. One that I have to say, I've never really encountered before. Coming from the UK, we are bought up with the rain, and the wind, and during the worst times, wind and rain. This can chill you to the bone.

Now, I am in Beijing. Since I am busy now (for a change) I have to schedule my rides early. So today I went out at 8am. Besides having to dodge cyclists traveling at 3km/hr (how do they stay up?) and car drivers not looking, so that they squeeze an extra 1cm of movement forward in their completely, your not going forward for at least 30minutes traffic jam, I cycled out in -14c.
Now my cycling shoes are great for the Summer, very well ventilated, but not so good for the winter. Even with 3 pairs of socks on, my toes were suffering. So much so, that it was hurting. How bad did it hurt? So bad, that I cycled directly home, not even stopping for a coffee along the way (and if you know me, that's something really big!).
Then I thought the pain had finished, no way had the pain finished. What no-one tells you, is that, not only does near frost bitten tootsies hurt, but warming them up, is a completly another level of pain. I didn't know whether to hop, cradle, walk fast on the spot or what, this, with me whining like a cat with no food for weeks.
I decided on turning on the shower, (very hot, so that it warms to floor first) the reducing the temp, so that I could shower anyway. Tingling, pins and needles, stand aside, this is going to be a flood of sensations.

Anyway, feet are good now, I will have to look at the weather temp tomorrow am, to see if I am brave (read stupid) enough to go out in it.

Monday, January 12, 2009

woohooo they are almost here

   yeah.... they are almost here, that is the Team arrive tomorrow, I know it's only a small team, but hey, I get to be with them for a long time, and more importantly, I get to really enoy my friends with 'stories' for not weeks, or months, but quite possibly years.
Yesterday (Sunday) was the start of my Christmas Present.  Which involved doing Pilates, now, I don't know about you, but sometimes when I put extreme pressure on my stomach, I have an excess energy which needs to be dispelled, and sometimes, it can be noisy.
So last night, whilst the Good Lady was trying to watch TV, I was trying to do Pilates, I thought it was quite funny, because (and you have to imagine this) when someone was talking on the TV, I so kindly interrupted at infrequent intervals, and it made it look like a crude bleeper.
   "So as I was saying to the (parp) person, that his hairdo was really (parp) awesome" 
My blogging will become a little sparse over the next few days (as if, it isn't now) as I shall be busy, but I'll try and post some pics, and stories.
Have fun.

woohooo they are almost here

   yeah.... they are almost here, that is the Team arrive tomorrow, I know it's only a small team, but hey, I get to be with them for a long time, and more importantly, I get to really enoy my friends with 'stories' for not weeks, or months, but quite possibly years.
Yesterday (Sunday) was the start of my Christmas Present.  Which involved doing Pilates, now, I don't know about you, but sometimes when I put extreme pressure on my stomach, I have an excess energy which needs to be dispelled, and sometimes, it can be noisy.
So last night, whilst the Good Lady was trying to watch TV, I was trying to do Pilates, I thought it was quite funny, because (and you have to imagine this) when someone was talking on the TV, I so kindly interrupted at infrequent intervals, and it made it look like a crude bleeper.
   "So as I saying to the (parp) person, that his hairdo was really (parp) awesome"
My blogging will become a little sparse over the next few days (as if, it isn't now) as I shall be busy, but I'll try and post some pics, and stories.
Have fun.

Saturday, January 10, 2009

the inside geek of me

I have to confess that yes, I am geeky.  I think that at some point, all of us become geeky at some point, even if it's your mother loving some part of her new car.
It is time for me (well another few months anyway) that I need to change my phone. As a type of business user, one which needs to write long emails and sometimes using the µ and the ² within these emails, I tend to find that I need a keyboard.
I have an iTouch, but for my excessive smsing, twittering and emailing that I do, I find the soft keyboard something of a pain to the fingers.
My other problem is that I cycle a lot, so I want to carry a small phone, my current Palm has been through hell and back, and actually during one fall, it was actually the cause of my badly bruised, maybe broken rib.
So the 2 phones I have narrowed it down to at the moment are the Pre (pronounce Preeeee) and the LG KF900 (pronounce Prada)
Both are new, (well, won't be by the time I get to buy one) and both have rotating graphics (aka iPhone) blah blah, but they both can run multiple programms (iPhone can't) have sliding real keyboards, and offer something which Apple doesn't.  A business useable phone.
Whilst the iPhone is great, it's just not suitable for me, and the reason I use my iTouch is because in Wifi areas, I prefer to use the free download of that for my email, rather than my pay for Edge service (I am in China)
So which one would you go for?

Thursday, January 8, 2009

Plans

I don't like making resolutions as these are easily broken (by some) but I do like to plan.
The best way to achieve something is to micro-plan, that is, to break some large plan or goal, into something more manageable, and doable.
e.g. If you are planning on running a Marathon, and your a non runner, you would start off by running short distances, and slowly but surely build up distance and time then viola! You can run a Marathon, it would be pretty silly to run it, without much prior training.

So what are my plans for this year?

My major plan this year is to go to Oz, and compete in a 24 Hour MTB Solo race.  Good eh?  Of course my micro managed goals for this are a 50km race (which I know I can do, now) a 3 day stage race (MTB) and then the 24hr.  See how my distance and times are increasing throughout the year?

I also want to build my own wheels, or should I say, learn to build them well.  There is definatly an art and a skill to doing this properly.

I want to read a small novel at least once a month.  That means cutting time down on the net, and doing something useful and cultural.  This is more impressive in the fact that I want to read it in a second language, not my mother tongue.

Speaking of secondary languages, for those of you who are planning on travelling to the UK, or have some UK friends, you may want to check on this.  It can save you, without you shaking your head, as if you know what they are saying.  Do yous cotton ed wa' ay arl bottle and glass?

Monday, January 5, 2009

mamoth task

Well since my last post was quite long and exhaustive (for me) it has taken me a couple of days to recover, an excuse for writers block, or should one say, writers blog, no, that doesn't work,  it would have to be bloggers block. Yes that is it... wow 5th Jan, and already maybe coming up with new words for 09!
Yesterday I went up the hills with my friends, apart from my chain snapping 3 times arrrrgghhh it was a lovely ride. The outside temp never raised above -1c the whole time, brrrrr but still it was very nice.  Along the track Happy Village Life (sounds like a song) I decided to push it, and push it I did.  Managed to hit a maximum heart rate of 195 going up, and really thought I was going to be sick when I got to the top.  I've never quite believed in the adage of 220- your age, ever since I did a race one year with a average heart rate of 223!
I must of pushed it somewhat though as it did take it out of me, and it's been a many a year when I have felt that tired after a riding session.  I think it is the start of things to come.  From this Sunday, my official training plan begins. I feel that it's going to be a monumental task, but with excellent results.  I do fear though, that it will rule my life, or that my life will revolve around it.
Saying that, I have a plan for this year, and if you deviate from the plan, a different outcome will prevail.
On-On

Friday, January 2, 2009

when a man becomes a woman

Today I went for a quick spin. The weather is nice, I actually wore a layer less than normal. I only rode for 50mins. Actually looking for a road with minimal stopping here in Beijing is very difficult. Traffic lights appear some every 100 meters or so. But I found a nice cycle path which will enable me to have a nice spin, (nice spin meaning a nice almost non-stop spin, not including the environment) the only problem is that it runs parallel to the 2nd ring road.

I live in a city with like 1 gazillion people, and which 1000 new cars are being added everyday, I'll let you do the maths.
Saying that, the roads where really quiet today, I managed to ride for 50mins, with only putting my foot down twice to stop at lights.
So like I said, it was a nice spin.

When I got home, I ask the good lady what she was reading on the net, she said "stuff" which I then take it as gossip. When I probed further, it did turn out to be gossip, and what stars are wearing (she was swotting up on the latest fashion trends)
She said that I would have no interest in what she is reading, I said it's not what she is reading that I have an interest in, but what she is interested in, is what I am interested in, if you know what I mean.

I then commented on that it must be hard for stars to go out, with paparazzi following them, they have to look good all the time, the good lady then pointed out, that all women have this problem, and men, do not.

I pause at this point. Think.

When I go out, do I really care what I wear. On the norm, no. But wait. There is a time I do care what I wear.

On the bike.

I try to co-ordinate what I wear with the bike, I don't like colours to clash, I don't want to go out smelling to bad, so washing the clothes now and again is important.

Now I'm not a Euro-Cyclist but still, one has to look okay.

So does that mean, that men can become women like?

I was out on the MTB one day, when a fellow rider said that when shopping for bikes, and bike related stuff, the women side of us came out, I don't suppose he is right, I know he is right. Show me a cyclist who doesn't like looking at bike related, bike porn stuff, and he's not a cyclist.

There is one difference though, sometimes you can see someone who looks good, has all the stuff, and that raises the challenge in us, there is nothing better than getting to the top of hill or just riding better than the next fellow, maybe women have this same feeling if they see someone better dressed then them. I've yet to meet a man brave enough to ask this question.

So, Sunday is fast approaching, and even though I try to look good, I have one friend coming out, and he'll just pound us to the ground, doing trickz and stuff I can only dream of, and he dresses like a goth when it comes to cycling clothes....

Oh well, having fun is more important isn't it? Now where did I put that leg balm......

Thursday, January 1, 2009

catching up

Last night for the bringing in the New Year, we decided to stay in.  We went out on the 30th to celebrate with friends, so we thought, blah, whats the point of doing it again?
Now some folk might think that I was sad, staying all night in, playing on the net, but it was really good.  I was chatting to my brother, for the first time in a very long time, and courtesy of social networking tools on the internet, I was talking to old school friends, some of whom I haven't spoken to in many many years (I live in GMT +8) so for me, I had a very good night.
Should least we forget times gone by, I think it was an excellant thing to do, and we do have Rabbie Burns to thank for that.
Today, for a change, we braved the modern foe of shopping.  Actually, we just wanted to walk off our lovely Prawns in Chilli and skinned Frog in dry fire! Wonderful (those are both my favourite dishes) and before you turn your noses up, you have to try it, before you can say otherwise.
As after any Christmas, sales are everywhere, except for the things that you want to buy.  I saw a lovely top today, in a sports shop (where else would I be) and after converting the poor pound against the Peoples currency, there is no way, I was going to pay that amount of money.  Also, as the good lady reminded me, it's also my new helmets money.
She knows me so well.
I so can't wait for Sunday.  It is going to be my first MTB ride of the year with the guys, and I'm looking forward to it.  Some of them have already started working, and some still haven't come back from home, but I sooooo need to get out there. It's been to long.

and......

Well, I was slightly mislead in my assumption that it was just Darren who was getting 3 letters after his name.

After looking at the Honours list, it seems that most of the British Squad are up there!

Congrats to them all :D