Heres the linky

I’m mentioned just after the mgmt track.

Just a little update, I’m planning to attempt this again, and to take on the coast to coast non stop.

I’ll post a ride report in the travels section once I work out how to convert Garmin gpx files into something a little more visual on the web but for now here is a little info on how I got on with the Aberystwyth Adventure.

Being a man of style and fashion I arrived late for my own grand departe, not on purpose mind I had to stop and remove the toe clips as they were crippling me, somedays I really miss my spd’s but as I almost fell off a couple times later it was probably best I was using flat pedals.  After a few photos and some jokes about possible death and such I set off almost wrecking the bike by riding down some steps which required a quick detour.

The first part of the journey was quite easy going and counting roundabouts using the count from sesame streets voice seemed fun for a bit until the hills started.  While the Bromptons 6 gears are great for the city and the occasional small hill 10% inclines were hard work involving stopping, praying, cursing and occasionally pushing.   Thankfully the fully ( and possibly over ) loaded bag on the front acted as an air brake and the descents never got out of hand, considering I didn’t see pot holes until the last minute.

I’d reached my halfway point of 58 miles by 5am and tried to eat some dinner, of which I managed about 2 spoons and settled for a cup of tea, some water and a energy gel.  I think stopping for too long here turned into a mistake as it took a while to get going again as I’d stiffened up.

I pushed on deciding to follow the A44 rather than the mountain road as my knees were starting to sting a little and managing to pick up some water about 8am at an open public toilet as the rain came in.  While the A44 was flatter and easier going than some of the roads I’d cycled on the head wind felt like I was pushing a bus along.

With only 25 miles to go disaster struck and the chain snapped outside nPower’s wind farm.  After unsuccessfully trying to hitch hike the last stretch I resorted to pitching my tent and waiting for my rescuers to arrive.  While I had spare chain links in my tool kit I had managed to leave the chain tool at home I guess after a night of me standing on the pedals pushing for all my worth it just couldn’t take any more and sheared.

I’m not planning to try this again at all … ok so I am but maybe on a proper bike or with less stuff or less pie in me.

Nervous, yes!

I have a train ticket waiting at Aberystwyth station for a reserved seat on the 13.30 to Birmingham tomorrow. If you fancy a laugh come meet me it gets in to new street at 16.37

I’m still worried about something going wrong, but as least I can just put the tent up and go to sleep if everything goes wrong and wait until the busses and trains start running or I can call for a rescue mission from someone.

I’m bricking it!

I was fine last night while I was finishing the route planning and gathering up kit but I’ve woken up this morning with a right uneasy feeling; I’m worried that a wheel will fall off, i’ll get hit by a truck, or simply there won’t be water at any of the stealth bottle refuelling points I’ve identified.

I’m sure once I get up and start the last prep on the bike and putting the last bits together I’ll be fine and this time tomorrow I’ll be sitting in Aberystwyth drinking a coffee and eating an ice cream or sleeping in my bivi bag under a sand dune.

1. Be Awesome

2. Go To More Gigs

3. Find Girlfriend

4. Eat Less Chocolate

Well I think I’ve got number 1 pretty much covered.

I live on my own, is probably the most pertinent point to get this started and it’s important to note that I live alone not by accident but on purpose, in such I did this to myself.  A few years ago I was lodging with Beard who after renting a succession of houses with me had bought a house and offered me the spare room which I had taken.  The house it’s fair to say was a tip, we had a welding machine in the front room at one point!  I meanwhile had stacked my room from floor to ceiling with stuff I even had boxes stacked on top of the wardrobe.  Something had to change I needed more space and with Anthony moving to Australia his 3 Bed house presented it’self.  Excellent I thought a nice big house on the outskirts of the city with a garden that I can hold parties and have space to work and think.  Do you want to know how many parties I’ve had … 1 it was my 30th Birthday and it rained!

So here I am living for the next month and and half at least in what is sometime described as my country estate on my own, trapped somewhere between a recluse and eccentric wondering at which point did all my friends start settling down having children and seeming stressed but utterly content.  Was I away on camp and miss a really good night out where everyone met their perfect match or something.  I’m not really sure, all I know is that increasingly those of us in my age range are turning into their parents.  This is worry some, was there a selection process where whoever is in charge picks from a line of 20 somethings and the geeky engineer gets left until last a bit like the non sporty kid at school, hey in fact that was me on both counts.

I feel driven to prove myself to people, driving myself I should add takes more energy than you might think and occasionally I crash quite spectacularly and I mean spectacularly, sometimes I’m lucky and I’m on my own but sometimes I’m stuck in a situation where I can just do no more … I can smile no longer and I surrounded by people that I cannot escape from very readily and I usually end up looking a complete stroppy miserable pillock.  Let me just say that if it’s going to happen then it usually happens when I’m not expecting it and drinking alcohol at exactly the wrong moment does make it worse.  Sometimes i’m fixed with a cup of tea and five minutes reflection, sometimes a hug from an occasionally seen friend will fix me right up, and sometimes theres no chance and the fog is in for at least 12 hours and nothing but a huge cup of tea with piles of sugar, two kalms and at least 8 hours sleep (If I can get any) will go any way to getting me moving again.

The need to prove myself is so strong that I would probably attempt to push a coach out of the mud in the rain on my own If I thought people would notice, I sing out of tune and pretend not to care, I’ll get up in the middle of the night even if i’m not on duty to attend to some meaningless camp event, I’d and I have miss lunch so not to let people down even though everybody else has had a break (probably because I don’t want to eat alone).  I cycled through snow that stopped cars into work on days where I probably could have legitimately worked from home due to the weather, I’ve cycled home from town at three in the morning on days where I could have afforded a taxi.  I’d destroy myself to make a point, stand in the middle of a fight and take a punch ment for someone else and their is nothing I can do to stop it.  It’s an inbuilt thing at no point will my brain say “STOP”.

Until of course there is a girl involved.  It is fair to say that I go all bibbly over a girl I like to the point that I end up ignoring them instead of saying “excuse me. would you like to dance”, or “your really nice can I call you” or just anything in fact even, “do you fancy a cuppa, I’ve got the kettle on” becomes pretty much impossible.  It must seem a bit weird to the poor lass on the receiving end, I mean here is a nice enough bloke not the best looker but friendly and hard working and things seem to be going alright and then for almost no reason he starts ignoring you.  Confusing … try being me inside my head my subconscious is screaming something like “Will you just bloody say something” but my lips are jammed shut.  Mind you add to the fact that I couldn’t tell a come on from a friendly nod to save my life.  I’m so terrified of getting it wrong that I’m pretty sure I’ve let some really splendid girls get away.

I’ve spent the last 5 years at least on various online dating sites and never got very fair mostly because I struggled to get past the initial emails mostly because of the reasons detailed in the previous paragraph.  I mean can you imagine

Somewhat off the wall, engineer, cyclist, and scout of the larger build seeks a companion that can cope with weekends, weeks and occasionally almost a month in a tent working stupid hours doing seemingly daft jobs while singing camp songs.  Must smile often, read odd books be interested in science fiction and pretty much everything apart from pop stars and pseudo celebrities.  Listen to all sorts of music. enjoy dancing, laughing, the world service and radio 4.  Must also accept that it dosent matter how you protest I will still open the door and pay for dinner.  Ability to lie in hammock pondering own navel on sunny days a must.

On a site full of profiles with statements like “I loooooooove rnb especilly (Insert badly spelt name of R’n'B band in charts)” or “My favoritisit thing in the whole wurld is my saxo gt mtr v6 wibbly”  Oh yes I’ve been their folks.

Anyway enough for now.

My Scouting summer started with a weeks summer camp at Peak 2010, and while the kids did seem to have a good time they seemed very bogged down in rules and regulations.  We even had a kitchen inspection and where questioned about how we intended to cook the kids food.  They weather wasn’t very kind to us and the closing ceremony was almost cancelled due to the rain.

From Peak I headed back to Birmingham to drop off the kit, and then on to Buckinghamshire to Chalfont Heights campsite for the Buckinghamshire Guide centenary camp Bucks100Fest.  I arrived fashionably late but in time to do a bit of car parking, something that I repeated a few times.  As a Bucket I lifted, shifted and patrolled at all hours of the day and even sat in the sun and ate ice cream.  I lay on the floor next to a security barrier with Jess crushing my legs and guides sticking glowsticks up my nose during a fire poi demonstration and Hi-Fived so much my hands actually hurt.  And when it was all finished we ripped it all out packed it into vans and cleared up, but only after having a staff party.

I’ve got a few days to myself now and it’s a bit weird being sat at home in the quiet after the hustle and bustle of the last two weeks, but I need to concentrate on finding somewhere to live now.

Oh yeah and does anyone have some nail polish remover I could borrow.