RIP wrote: ↑Wed Feb 26, 2020 9:10 pm One of them is Tim Moore's "The Cyclist Who Went Out In The Cold", detailing his 10000km trek down the Iron Curtain on an 1967 GDR machine. Good fun so far. I rather like his quirky style,

'S funny - I went to our library today and got the same book. I liked his account of the 1912 Giro d Italia. Hmm, that reminds me, I lent it to someone and haven't got it back yet. Got a Bill Bryson too - he's always a good read - and a couple of thrillers. Ya can't beat a proper book...

"got the same book", now that IS wierd. It must be some sort of quantum entanglement thing going on. I'll have a better idea what's going on there once I've finished two of my other borrowings: "The Coming Age Of Quantum Biology" and "Zoom - How Everything Moves, From Atoms to Bees" .

His travels with my donkey was also worthy of a library borrow.

Off to the Chester revival rally tonight

Saw three different hunting Barn Owls on this mornings ride. It was my privilege to cycle alongside one of them for about a mile as it scoured the verge. Any day you see a hunting Barn Owl is a good day...

Cool! Three in one day!!
I followed one on Sunday as the sunset after an epic 10hr ride to Cambridge and back off-road for about 400mtrs.
And followed another on the way back from ware on Thursday after a talk by Shu pillinger (of RAAM) at allenburys sports n social club. (Tough lady!)
Makes my day too that free stuff!!

An action packed weekend in store for Norm - I shall be leaving the Towers late this afternoon and heading back to the Peak District. I will spend tomorrow morning buying a new van to replace HMS Dreadnaught. Tomorrow night I'll be in Manchester to watch The Picture Books, then on Sunday I shall be liberating my AJS M20 engine and gearbox before returning back to the land where nowt happens

Picture Books.. mmm... Spinal Tap sprung to mind slightly but I'm sure that's a grossly unfair calumny .

Just off to recce a new within-the-town-ramparts shed-based bivi spot so that's semi-cheery I guess.

Anyroad yoth, enjoy that nice Peak air .

Very much unconvinced that it's cheery Friday!

Wifey has buggered off for four days skiing with buddies leaving a semi-crippled Gairy home alone with 3 little buggers/cherubs* (*delete as applicable).

It's gonna be a LONG weekend

Let's hope your Friday is looking cheerier than mine

Found the pub in pinewood studios and the sun is out

It's feck off Friday for me again. I appear to be working all weekend once more.

Bum! Not so cheery - the lawnmower came out today. This means that for the next 6 or 7 months, at least one of my days off will be spent pushing it up and down the lawns. It’s my own fault, I planted the bl***y things. If seemed a good idea at the time. If only I’d known

Meadow froggy, meadow...all the rage nowadays

Not sure if he's on here but he's done a BB200 or two. One of his Strava activities was him mowing one of his paddocks (they've got horses) to see how far he went whilst doing it

One of the best and most surprising mashups I think I've ever seen
Enjoy
https://youtu.be/pm08v69vG10

I would appear to have bought another bike. A 1968 Falcon road bike.......

Haven't mentioned it yet, but I think this might be bike #10 (plus a tandem which is only half mine). Pick it up tomorrow, happy days

JohnClimber wrote: ↑Fri Mar 06, 2020 11:03 pm One of the best and most surprising mashups I think I've ever seen
Enjoy
https://youtu.be/pm08v69vG10

I'll see you this one John and raise you this;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1cUIXV ... rt_radio=1

How did Spinal Tap go Stu? Blyth Power were OK but not at their best - supported by The Astronauts (hadn't realised how far back they go).

How did Spinal Tap go Stu?

Successful mission Reg. We have a new van, not only did I see the Picture books but I also saw a band called CDMC* and I have an AJS engine int' back of the car. I also had time to fix my brothers rather large pillar drill for him too, so bit of an added bonus there.

*Two brothers from Yorkshire, strange but enjoyable mix of genre but nice and loud.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cINnXs96_O0

Nice one, plenty of bits and pieces to keep you occupied whilst self-isolated . What am I on about, you're already in a permanent state of self-isolation . You'll be the last man and woman standing.

That vid is a bit of a bikepackers' collectors piece - every single person in it sported a beard, I think even including the rather racy woman in the fishnets (was she there last night?), although admittedly I only watched it once before Mrs Perrin hoved nigh to enquire what I was watching.

Nearly Friday, this made me laugh.
https://youtu.be/QbC6dLG_dQY

Ski holiday cancelled due to Austria shutting up all its ski areas which is a downer but actually a relief as it would have likely turned into a confined to barracks / escape from colditz epic, or something. so now drinking beer, contemplating a bike ride and some fine skiing in Scotland as well as my March Bam. **** foreign holidays.....

A lucky escape there I reckon Phil, because now, as you've pointed out, you have the infinitely more rewarding pleasures of "drinking beer, contemplating a bike ride" to look forward to! I'm not suggesting this CV situation has any silver linings, and I'm bound to get flamed, but some people might discover as a result that smaller pleasures are, well, just as, or perhaps more, pleasurable as apparently more spectacular ones.

And surely Scottish skiing is much more interesting than Austrian. I speak as one who learned "in at the deep end" at Glen Shee back in '84 - fog, pubs, pubs, fog, 80/-, snow... ahhh , nostalgia/reminiscence warning: .... all the others went up by car.. boring... I took the train to Pitlochry, and rode in the dark and snow on my Falcon road bike over to a freezing shack in Blacklunans I think it was.... only vaguely knew the other people... they said I could tag along and they'd try and find a bit of room for me to sleep. Turned out the "bit of room" was a blasted [below] freezing cold porch stuck on the back of the building in which I kipped in my sleeping bag! Funnily enough I really enjoyed it - I can remember looking up at the full moon even now. I also remember a very very strange pub/bar just south of the place, not as far as Bridge Of Cally, maybe Dalrulzion. Doesn't seem to be on the map now. Anyway, back to the Friday night beers.....

Sounds like a true Scottish skiing experience Reg. In truth I've experienced the alps / Tirols best but I still love to keep it local. Had a few ace days in my local hills this season so should be a good one this coming week looking at the weather and snow conditions.

The pub you are probably referring to is the Spittal of Glenshee hotel, which burned to the ground in suspicious circumstances in 2015.... Good option for a cheeky bivvy tho'

Glenshee Hotel.... ooh... now I've delved a bit further and it turns out there was a Dalrulzian Hotel, maybe that was it... vaguely remember lots of lock-ins and one of the blokes driving us back in the icy early hours all rammed into his clapped-out Metro Turbo - bodies, legs, arms all over the place - desperately trying to stay on the road. Utterly insane in retrospect. But memorable.

Ah, Mini Metro.

A mate used to be in the Police. He was a police advanced driver, one of those you went "oh sheeeeeeeet!" when he got going. He'd switch between the local constabulary and the motor division. Anyway he's a local copper and one night his sergeant says "Head out and park up somewhere and keep an eye on things".

So he parks up by Duddon Bridge which is the start of the Corney Fell road which is a well known short cut to get to the Cumbrian west coast, i.e. Sellafield. Some time later a Lamborghini rolls past "at pace". "Hmm" so he sets off. A while later he switches on the blue lights and pulls the car over.

"Evening sir", etc. Now all he wants to do is have a look at the car but the bloke doesn't know this. The usual tooing and froing goes on about appropriate speed and the like. Then the bloke makes the fatal mistake. Smugly he asks: "So what did you catch me up in?"

"Mini Metro van sir. Mind how you go"