Friday 6 June 2008

The Traveller Returns

I wanted to get up early to catch the Earlybirds, or perhaps I'd better say Earlybird (sorry to miss you again Mark), because I think they've been a bit thin on the ground this week. But it wasn't to be. I got to bed a bit too late again, trying to finish off some new code so it would be ready for testing this morning. In the end, though, it took me until mid-afternoon to finish, but I got there eventually and I was pleased to have come up with an elegant solution to this multiple appointment issue that I've been struggling with.

The legs felt a little sore from the Chevin yesterday, and they still feel quite sore today. I guess I ran harder on the descent than I have for quite a while. I'm trusting that they'll be fine for Sunday and the White Rose Classic. I usually reckon that I'm recovered from most things in 3 days. The weather looks set to be fair, indeed quite perfect at the moment if there is no change to the prediction. I'm really looking forward to it, because I'm determined first and foremost to enjoy the day out, without the pressure of worrying about time. I think that's the true spirit of the Sportive. Things might change on the road, of course, but that's how I'm going into it. Nice and relaxed. It's actually a wonderful feeling to be fit enough to have no fear of the distance nor the climb, and to know that I'm going to have a blast!!

A fair bit of chat on the bikeradar forum about the demise of cyclosport.org, and a fell running friend of mine, Keith Parkinson, has very quickly put up a simple listing of events at http://www.sportivelinks.org.uk to fill the gap that had been left, only for the site to get resurrected this afternoon under a new banner. It's all distinctly odd and I'm hoping that Mark will provide his community with an explanation of the strange events of the last 48 hours. I discussed with Keith earlier today the merits of simple lists. It was E.F.Schumacher who coined the phrase "Small is Beautiful" from his book of that name, but I actually prefer "Simple is Beautiful". Not wanting to take anything away from the community aspect of cyclosport.org, Keith's single page list of events and links is actually a far more accessible and useful reference than anything we've had before. Simple is indeed beautiful. It's easy to forget that when the scope to create complexity is so great!

The highlight of the day was being re-united with No.2 son after his travels in Peru. He's had a hard time of it with stomach bugs and altitude sickness, but he's enjoyed an amazing experience nonetheless. The highlight for him was Machu Picchu and the climb up Wayna Picchu where he felt the urge to run up and overtake all the 'tourists' to get to the top before anyone else. He always had this urge when he was young, to run rather than walk up hills, but I feared it had been lost. But you can't deny your genetic heritage! It's good to know that he really is a chip off the old block!! Hopefully this can be a springboard from which we can now get some good riding in together.

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