I blog therefore I am.

I have read the following so many times while browsing the internet ; I apologise for the sparsity of posts etc...

Well, I do. Things will change very soon. I will be blogging much more. I am not promising to be the most gripping read on the web, but I will be accurate, and my futile ranting may provide some entertainment value.

I can provide lessons in razor-sharp sarcasm (my PhD subject) and there will be lots of pretty pictures.

I will also provide an explanation for my little avatar showing the main entrance to Pettitts Animal adventure park at Reedham, Norfolk. (I have no connection to the place, and anyway, its probably closed for the winter).

Just socked it to a worthless piece of motoring scum in a transit van.

I was cyling on an urban road, uphill, on the left. it was narrowed to the width of one motor vehicle by parked cars. I was there first. I took the centre of the lane. Mr dickhead came straight down the road, therefore straight at me. He blinked first. Scumbag.

The van was very distinctive. I believe that I will soon be publishing the registration number.

Cyclists 1   :    Motons 0. 

Its the small things in life that bring pleasure.

A Post.

I've not really done any cycling lately. I want some new challenges and some new scenery. Basically I have visited everywhere local. 
I plan lots of rides in my head and I have now bought a little notebook in which to record these thoughts before I forget them. My problem is a lack of time and a lack of money.

Two weeks ago my wife and I went to North Wales on a five-day Sheerings coach holiday. It was a bit dull being stuck in a coach with a bunch of old people, and I really wanted to be out walking and cycling in the hills, rather then just observing them through a coach window. However, I can not fault the service we were given, and we avoided the hassles of, for instance, looking after our luggage and worrying about train connections. We received excellent value for money.

I must go back; it is easily the most inspiring place I have ever been (Snowdonia, not Llandudno). I am already looking at options involving trains, Youth Hostels and campsites.
Next September Sheerings are running an eight-day trip, also staying in Llandudno, taking in four steam railways. It sounds very enticing.

Some photographs.

Rusty ravens in Betws-y-coed.

Llandudno Bay from Happy Valley.

Pass of Llanberis.

Pass of Llanberis.

Climbing the Great Orme by tram.

Conwy and Deganwy from the Great Orme.

Conwy estuary from the castle.

Afternoon's bimbling in June

On 26th June I spent a pleasant afternoon wandering around Waterford Heath and marsh, just north of Hertford.

The heath is a former gravel pit that has been allowed to rgenerate its own life and is managed as a nature reserve.

The marsh is a lovely grazing meadow adjacent to the River Beane. The water is beautifully clear and it is easy to see fish and other aquatic life.
Here are a few of the photographs that I took.

FREEWHEELER IS BACK.

Freewheeler is back. He has been gone from the aether for a year, but has now returned.

I honestly thought that he had been assassinated by a certain north london council.

Cut through the crap at:

http://crapwalthamforest.blogspot.co.uk/

Bradley Wiggins

I had literally just finished writing in my diary that I believe Bradley Wiggins will do nothing for cycling in this country, when I noticed headlines on the internet. Apparently Mr Wiggins is calling for compulsory helmet use.

Quote : ' cycling is a dangerous sport'.

Well, I don't know about that. I have no interest in sport. I'm not an athlete.

Cycling is commuting, shopping, running errands, meeting friends, exercise and sightseeing.

A helmet will not offer me much protection from a ten ton bus being piloted by a person who is committing the offence of  dangerous driving.

There is lots more I could say, but as a cyclist I have long since learned the futility of pissing in the wind.

Hertford

I went to Hertford with my wife yesterday and our four year old grand-daughter.
We had a good time just wandering around and looking at the ducks, rivers etc.
Coffee in a multinational coffee shop (not my choice) and pies from a northern pie shop (my choice).
The lock on the canal was closed to allow it to be emptied and a sunken vessel removed.

I have recently become very interested in canals and the associated paraphernalia and I want to learn more about them.

And here are the photos:

What`s this? I want to learn more about canals.

`The drum is like a table!`