The online playground of a digital cowboy and consummate athlete.
It was 2010 and I signed up for the latest web service but unlike most of the signups this did not offer 140 characters to express my feelings, it was a new service called Strava. Back then Strava was pretty new, having only emerged a few years prior but it was gaining traction in the fitness arena, in particular cycling. To me, Strava started as a digital logbook of my activities on the bike....
2020 started off on the right trajectory. I had set myself some decent goals and spent a lot of the winter building my fitness towards some serious racing. An early race only went to prove this with a third place finish from a break. The power numbers were looking good, the motivation was high and the summer could not get here soon enough. Roll the clocks forward and 2020 has turned everything on...
You know that feeling, when you wake in the morning and that little thought pops into your head. “I had a blog, once”. Yep. I can confirm that after an online search for my name it turns out I do indeed have a blog. It is still alive and has been sitting here collecting dust all this time. Remember back when blogging was cool and everyone was creating custom WordPress themes every month? Those...
“Well, it all started when I found a lump” is a phrase I have been using quite a bit lately and it is surprising how those few words can totally change the tone of a conversation. Luckily for me my lump was located on the flesh of my left buttock and after examination was diagnosed as a harmless lipoma. When you recite that sentence; “I found a lump” you see the fear in faces and realise just how...
Round four of Mud, Sweat and Gears was held at Ickworth Park in Bury St. Edmunds. It was a new course for me but I had been informed it would consist of a lot of grassy climbs. With the sun shining we pack the car and head over there. After signing on I meet up with Tony and we head out for a sighting lap. Sure enough, first turn off the start/finish straight was a big grassy climb into a wooded...
It is no secret I’m passionate about cycling, but the truth is I had never been handed a number and tried racing; until last year. Since cycling kicked off for me back in 2006 I have completed a list of challenges, I’ve pushed myself with my own goals. However all my events have been team outings or lacked that competitive edge. It was not without temptation; members of Cycle Club Sudbury had...
You get up every morning. You go to work every week day. You think everything is good with the world. That is until your boss tells you that there is no work to keep you employed and they can no longer keep your position open. So now you come home and re-think what you want to do in life. Redundancy does that to you. Now let’s be honest, my job was SharePoint development and I have struggled for...
During the festive period I started looking towards the New Year and calendar for the next few months. Turns out it is all going to be about cycling. Starting off with my attempt at becoming a Level 2 British Cycling...
It would appear the the sport of professional cycling has imploded over recent weeks. Every day greets us with a new press release stating a riders admission to doping, a team manager stepping down or a contract being terminated. ##So what do we as cyclists do? Well my first task is to try and defend my sport and hobby to the football fraternaty at work, which is easier said than done. All the...
Talk about a long time coming. Looking back the last time I sat down with digits at keyboard was over three years ago, that is quite a while in Internet time. Well since that time I’ve changed jobs, bought a house and started a family. Maybe taking time out is good for the soul, it has helped me. However I have missed having that little outlet for my thoughts, the online scratch book so to speak....