Ackers on a bike/hike

*la femme still vous plait

Lawyers!

UK will allow US to use bases to strike Iranian missile sites, says Starmer UK will allow US to use bases to strike Iranian missile sites, says Starmer

sigh! wince! cringe! argh!

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

A Swiss ball on a carpet in front of a TV showing a recording of masterchef from last week

My old Swiss ball was 15 years old when it perished and deflated around 2 years ago.
Got a new one as a gift a couple of weeks ago.
My core has departed in the meantime, and I can only manage 5 mins on it in front of the TV. Let alone proper balance stuff.
Must apply "rule #5"!

A tupperware gently defrosting on a kitchen surface. The label says rhubarb 17 August 2024

2026 rhubarb growth is the strongest for a long while.
Time to consume some stuff we banked a while ago...

Stay strong buddy!

Wasn't that an episode of Red Dwarf - Rimmer using 2 or 3 computers to save the ship?

A strava screenshot of a 30km bike ride around rural Hertfordshire - mostly 1.5 lanes wide, some single lane, some double lane

Mostly lovely riding in the emerging spring conditions - shame there are still motorists around.

My strava ride description:
4 very close passes, then a MGIF that has resulted in a pretty severe vocal chord strain for me 🤷‍♂️

It was quite funny really - the midfield riders got very animated us backmarkers were allowed to "race" and continually tried to stop us getting entries.
The elite/top riders just saw us as "part of the course" as we had to be navigated by everyone - chapeau!
I always had a great time!

Fab effort - really pleased for you!
Racing with elite athletes is great.
I used to "race" (to avoid last place) at the Thetford MTB winter series, a few hundred riders including internationals. It was laps over 4 hours, and I was always overtaken twice - who cares, race the one in front of you!
1/2

I need a G-line to get to the station, standard Brompton is not viable on the country lanes.
I'll do the bike commute ~once a week when the clocks change with 50/50 on the safe route cos it is offset against riding, but even then it is only a matter of time before I get knocked off.
Sigh!
3/3

...and bike + train could be made to work then, not now with barriers.
Yeah, car will be more expensive than that, but a folding bike is ~£2,500, and that blows it out of the water.
- Car is 35 mins
- Bike + train is 1:30
- Bike direct is 1:45 inc shower
- Bike safe route is 2:30 inc shower
2/3

Just re-checked a bike+train to work option
- Car, £4 fuel per day - yeah, some other costs, might have to check
- Train - 2x14km ride, then £9.80 return, then 2x1.5km ride (+need a folding bike)
- bike all the way - 62km round trip on A roads 💥
Train was £4 return 10 years ago, did it lots
1/3

Conditioning success - both feet and pack were creating discomfort in the last hour, without getting too shredded - result!
Now to stretch the envelope in the next few weeks...
2/2

River Lea and towpath east of Hertford - only one runner in sight, but there were loads and loads of folks out today

nation cycle route 61 looking dry and in the sunshine

Some trees with lots of blue skies beyond, with a few whispy clouds

A strava screenshot of a 25.5km walk in 4 hours 57 mins along the Ayot Greenway and River Lea Navigation - 35,000 steps

Conditioning Walk - got to make the most of the conditions!
24km traffic free 🎉
Breaking in new boots a bit more.
Managed less than 5 mins before I decided blister pads on my ankle bones was a good idea. Then managed 16km before I had to drop the new boots in favour of pretty worn trail shoes.
1/2

A screenshot from the merlin birdsong app showing 7 different birds in 2 minutes

A fingerpost on the Cole greenaway between welwyn garden city and hertford

Decent start to today's conditioning walk, 9 different bird in the car park as I put my shoes on (yeah, less on the screenshot)

Maybe that's why the tickets are so expensive...

Glad to hear it.
Might have had to grass you up to WADA if you hadn't got better 😉
(not that it slowed you down when it was healing)

Nice one! Are you still riding with a broken bone in your leg?

I've not watched international rugby for a while, money has spoilt the game for me.
But I accidentally tune in to tonight's match and I find Blair Murray playing for Wales, and Huw Jones playing for Scotland 🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️

Not sure us brits will pay for any improvements, we don't really want to pay for what we've got

Just had a remortgage application accepted, end date is when I am 1 month short of my 75th birthday.
Gambled 35 years ago with a 100% interest only mortgage @18%, and have got really lucky.
Average interest plenty lower than stock market returns, tax free tastic (for me with ISAs).
#beatthemachine

Survived for once

A strava screenshot of a map with a 6km walk around Enfield on pavements

Do you "break in" new walking shoes anymore, or do they break you in?
An hour on flat pavements and I have at least three inflamed contact points (feet/ankle on shoes) 🤷‍♂️
It'll be worth it to get back to intact goretex inners though! (waterproof socks taking a battering from the slop lately)

By the way, there is some interesting generation related psychology that goes some way to explain why the Welsh are uncomfortable with the English.
Seems my grandparents were the last generation to remember being screwed over by English businessmen in the 1900s, and as they pass, so does the hatred

Being Welsh, I followed rugby from a very young age, even enjoying the halcyon days of the 70s when I'm not sure I remember much else.
But the last 10 years or so I've lost interest for all sorts of reasons.
But nothing is better than an unexpected England loss #ABE
1/2

I'm a coros fanboy (at 58).
Had an apex pro watch and an HRM for a while and love it for hiking.
Just got a dura and haven't even put it on the bike(s) yet and am so happy.
Goodbye garmin, I never really liked you, you know where the bin is!
OK, I'll let you off with ebay...

See loads of badgers on off road routes in Hertfordshire. Lovely, but they are crap at running and just lumber away from you at 8kph, forever.
Then I get sad when they bail into the scrub and just keep crashing on forever.
Better than being on the road though...

we got 20mph signs in Welwyn Herts last week - does that count?
(better late than never - although strolled through the high st this evening and every car was doing 30+ 😡 enforcement matters!)
Anyway - we're getting traffic "calming" works over the weekend, hopefully that will help

..and many thanks for mentioning in passing the £2M threshold - it doesn't impact nearly everyone right now, so no one talks about, but more and more people are going to get stuffed by it - bloody politicians