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Sunday, November 23, 2014

ComicCon Birmingham November 23rd 2014

We've been looking forward to ComicCon for ages.
Actually, we've been looking forward to ComicCon since the last time we were there in March! The Birmingham event takes place over two days at the NEC and features traders, speakers, signings, Robot Wars, the Star Wars parade, comic book artists doing live work and the famous cosplay performances at the close of day.

Vicky

Martha
Cosplay is fans of films, comics, manga, anime and/or computer games dressing up as fictional characters. More often than not, these costumes have been painstakingly created or pieced together over several weeks/months before the event. There were some 'off-the-peg' costumes in evidence but these don't command the same respect as an impressive homemade effort! Three of the gang were cosplaying today: Martha as a hunter from video game Left 4 Dead, Vicky as Eren Yeager - a character from Manga/Anime Attack on Titan, and Mouse was the Mad Hatter!
However, Martha purchased a fine looking mask and eye-patch combination and suddenly became Kaneki Ken from Tokyo Ghoul!

The queue was, as usual, a lot of fun as we spotted the many different costumes being worn by the fans. I spotted Batman, Robin, the Stig, a Borg, loads of Star Wars characters, an army of Jokers, a creeper from Minecraft, Wonder Woman, Harley Quinn, loads of Adventure Time characters (including male and female Finns) and countless Japanese characters that I simply hadn't seen before!


I made some comic books purchases, Harry found some sweets, Mouse found some artwork for her bedroom walls and Tilly bought a postcard for herself. Everyone managed to find something to take home!


The Cosplay performance at the end of the day could have been better timed - the winners were announced after ComicCon had ceased business, which meant that people were in a rush to leave. Start the performance half an hour earlier next time please, MCM? The performances themselves were excellent, and very brave of the young people involved - we saw Final Fantasy X characters, The Penguin from Batman, and Zap Brannigan from Futurama to name but three of the 25 acts involved!

But enough from me, here are the rest of the pics!



















It's the cyclist in me...







Sunday, November 16, 2014

New tyres, animals attack, and the 15 minute bonk

A couple of weeks ago, Jonnie and I were heading south (mainly downhill) through the lanes towards Wilmcote. Jonnie was leading on a descent and came to a muddy corner. Riding behind him, I witnessed his back wheel refuse to follow the front and start to slide out around to the hedge. Jonnie managed to hold it together and got around the corner. We discussed the incident (over cake and tea) and decided that wet weather tyres were required - the 23mm pair provided with the Trek were decidedly slick!

Sunday
After a trip to Red Kite Cycles in the week, Jonnie was now using a pair of Continental 25mm Gatorskins. I had a quick look at these tyres before we set off - they didn't seem to offer much in the way of extra tread. There were a couple of triangular shaped areas evenly spaced along the tyre - the rest of it was quite smooth. Jonnie told me that the staff member at our LBS had explained that it was the amount of tyre in contact with the road that was important - not how much tread you have available. Hmmmm, I wasn't convinced...



A cold morning, but not windy. The lanes we very wet and muddy, however, often with standing water. What better day to test the new tyres?

During the descent of the 1:6 Widowmaker in Langley, a chap passed the both of us (overtaking Jonnie at a very steep corner) without saying a 'good morning!' This is against the rules! I sped after him for about a mile and a bit. I was catching him on a hill but as soon as we reached the flat he rode away. Next time...

Earlier in the ride, about 5 or 6 miles in, a squirrel darted out of a hedgerow and attempted to run between Jonnie's wheels. Unfortunately, he didn't make it and was promptly run over by the back wheel. I was riding at the back and witnessed it all. Our furry friend did a bit of breakdancing in the middle of the lane and then sprinted off into the opposite hedgerow. Hopefully, he'll be okay. So, the new tyres passed the squirrel test...

About 15 miles later I was leading into a descent from Snitterfield and towards the Stratford Road. A bird (looked like a crow to me) shot out of a low tree and directly at my head. A quick duck by me and a sharp change of direction by the bird prevented disaster. I was then overtaken by Jonnie...

After nature making it quite clear that we weren't welcome in the lanes today, we eventually reached our cake stop at Jane and Eric's home. We were 24 miles in and I was feeling good. The average was low (14mph) but Jonnie and I had were mainly chatting and spinning and simply enjoying our favourite hobby.

The remaining 15 miles were all at a steady incline. After about 10 minutes of starting back out in the lanes, I started to feel decidedly strange: I developed a bit of tunnel vision, quickly followed by a hollow leg feeling. then the all too familiar sensation of weakness and feeling sick that means only one thing: The dreaded bonk! (Those unfamiliar with the term can read about it here.) I confessed to Jonnie that I was feeling rather unwell and he sportingly let me hang onto his back wheel for a while.
After 15 minutes of this, a minor miracle occured! The cake must have started to take effect because I started to find my legs again! Indeed, by the time we reached the infamous Farm climb, I was back to my old self and doing my best Froome impersonation [at about 10% of his speed] up the hills! I've never recovered from the bonk before. Not without a big meal and plenty of rest. Will wonders never cease?

As far as the tyres are concerned: Jonnie was careful today. The lanes were in a right mess - water and mud everywhere. I did notice that I was able to keep up with Jonnie on the descents which is a rarity. The fella was obviously being sensible. He said he was pleased with the tyres and didn't feel them slip at any point. This can only be a good thing.
Deadly Dan did some internet research on them and was surprised to find that most people would not recommend the Gatorskins for wet weather riding. When it comes to winter rides, it would seem that the 4 Seasons tyre are the popular choice from the Continental range as far as the internet is concerned. Still, the Gatorskins are a vast improvement on the slipping and sliding slicks that Jonnie was skating around on the last time we were out in the lanes!


Sunday, November 2, 2014

Training Targets for 2015

As some may know, I've had some injury problems recently :
A suspected broken finger, a painful right knee and a VERY painful right shoulder.

After today's gentle 32 miles in the muddy lanes.

These injuries eventually stopped me training (except for a few road bike rides) and no weight-training, no Karate, no running and no mountain biking made me rather frustrated. I substituted training with beer and junkfood and set about being a happy slob for the last month. I even ended up getting amazingly drunk one Friday night and making an idiot of myself on social media...(Note to self: I must make sure I don't get left alone in the house on a Friday night ever again.)
I'm now happy to report that, although the finger and knee are still a little sore at times, the shoulder seems to have righted itself!

With this in mind, I did an MOT on myself to assess the damage done:



Start of September:
10st 2 lbs
Blood pressure: 125/76
Resting heart rate: 51
 
Today:
10st 1 lbs 
Blood pressure: 127/75
Resting heart rate: 40 [checked twice on both arms!]


Erm, so what does this mean? That cake and beer and no exercise lower your heart rate? Isn't a low heart rate an indication of fitness? Why have I lost weight? Could I have lost muscle mass through lack of exercise?
Confusing stuff. I suppose that 6 weeks of inactivity isn't long enough to have an adverse effect on the body.

Anyhoo, the serious training starts tomorrow and I've got a simple plan:
Cut out the sugary foods, dramatically cut out alcohol (aiming for 2 or 3 ales per week), and exercise every day. I'll be emphasising the running and cycling and cutting back on the weight-training in an effort to keep the shoulder happy. At least until Christmas.

So what am I training for? I have 5 definite targets with 2 others that I'd like to do:

  • The Cannock Chase Winter Classic - a mountain bike race that hasn't got a date yet. This year it was in February but I didn't ride it.

  • The Mad March Hare - 65-75 miles of road riding on 1st March. It will be cold and probably wet. With a massive hill somewhere along the route it has been a challenging but enjoyable ride for the last 2 years!

  • The Dynamic 100 - I enjoyed riding this road cycling event with mates this summer and raising over £200 for Macmillan. As the name suggests, it's just over 100 miles long!

  • Race the Train, Tywyn - My biggest challenge this year will be running 5.5 miles off road in Wales, chasing a steam train!

  • 3rd Kyu - A brown belt in karate. I'm sure that Martha will be able to achieve this with me next year.

My 2 other targets are both mountain bike races:
  • The Cannock Chase Summer Classic - a great race with a great atmosphere. I really enjoyed it this year even though I was badly (and painfully) hampered by injury.

  • Forest of Dean Enduro - I've entered this race twice and enjoyed it both times. Quite possibly my favourite thing to do on two wheels.

If anyone would like to do any of these challenges with me, get in touch! The more the merrier. I'd love to train together with you too.

So that's the plan. I'm aiming to complete at least 5 of these 7 next year, but to do that, the serious work needs to start now. I'm in my forties and living on beer and cake. Things have got to change!