tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16877116900852452002024-03-13T21:45:29.841+00:00Confused ?these are just some of the ramblings of a confused tall personSteve J Makinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08284307214886189898noreply@blogger.comBlogger284125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1687711690085245200.post-78115073164795327852016-03-31T23:14:00.002+01:002016-03-31T23:14:39.171+01:002 years laterstill got nowt to saySteve J Makinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08284307214886189898noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1687711690085245200.post-18753269509752728222014-03-05T17:50:00.001+00:002014-03-05T17:50:10.060+00:00Rides 10 and 11 of 2014Ride 10<br />
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36 miles, Salsa Fargo, cheshire lanes.<br />
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Ride 11<br />
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Cotic Solaris, 3 hours riding time, roast beef and onion baguette, coffee, excellent company.<br />
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<br />Steve J Makinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08284307214886189898noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1687711690085245200.post-55398881977774243912014-03-02T15:16:00.001+00:002014-03-02T15:16:18.245+00:00Ride 9 of 2014, White Peaks photo shoot, Cotic Solaris<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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About 15 miles ridden, about 6 hours out in the hills, about 250 photographs taken, of these 250 there are about 45 different actual location shots.<br />
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Classic route guide for STW magazine, just the three of us, me, Jenn and Barney, wet, windy, muddy, snowy, cold but mostly good light.<br />
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Trails were extra claggy, mud tyres would have been a good idea !<br />
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Stopped at Eyam for lunch, struggled to leave the warmth of the cafe, made the most of the dying light, job done.<br />
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Bonus was calling in to see Cy and Paul at Cotic HQ.<br />
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The shot above was taken whilst driving home, the actual riding shots will be in the April edition of the magazine, its fair to say that I'm quite pleased with some of them.<br />
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And for the two of you who are interested, Nikon D7000, Nikon 16-85mm f3.5-5.6, Sigma 50-150mm f2.8, 35mm f1.8, stashed inside a lowepro photosport 200 AW bag, with a Sony RX100 as back up.<br />
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<br />Steve J Makinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08284307214886189898noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1687711690085245200.post-7927318207623156302014-02-26T14:42:00.000+00:002014-02-26T14:42:05.247+00:00Ride 7 and 8 of 2014, new bike shakedownRide 7<br />
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12 miles, new Salsa fargo, wet, windy, didnt feel much like riding....<br />
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new Fargo, decided that Jack and I will be doing some 2 and 3 day rides this summer, the Fargo is in my opinion the perfect bike for this as we will be doing mixture rides, thats on road, off road and anything in between rides, he will be on the cream version, I will be riding the new blue version.<br />
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Ride 8<br />
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55 miles, back lanes and sausage butty, felt tons better today, might have been to do with the bright spring sunshine.<br />
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Headed out to Jodrell Bank, 2 reasons, I like the back roads way I can get there, went out via Pickmere, across to Knutsford and then out to Goostrey.<br />
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The best reason though is the sausage butty, without doubt the finest sausage butty £3.50 can buy, accompanied by great coffee and a view to inspire.<br />
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<br />Steve J Makinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08284307214886189898noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1687711690085245200.post-56626879576226151272014-02-18T17:22:00.000+00:002014-02-18T17:22:31.662+00:00Ride 6 of 2014, 44 miles, Salsa FargoFirst ride after a few days on Anglesey, walking in the magnificent weather, winds like you'd never believe, unfortunately I picked up an eye infection, probably something blown in by the wind.<br />
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So, I set off without breakfast, aiming to get something along the way, no idea where I was going, headed out into the battered lanes of Cheshire, I was glad to be on the Fargo with the state of the roads. Before too long I was out near Knutsford and thought about the cafe at Jodrell Bank, so thats where I headed, a coffee and a Cliff Bar.<br />
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Raining and hail on the way home, and of course that ever present headwind, I'm begining to think that its not really there, just my legs are so heavy !, by the time I get to the outskirts of civilisation I'm staving and starting to feel the early stages of bonking so head over to the bike shak to see Simon.<br />
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Two gels later and I'm good top go, ten mins of catching up on each others news and I'm away off home, 44 miles, 3200 Garmin calories.Steve J Makinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08284307214886189898noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1687711690085245200.post-61988851352399065722014-02-10T16:41:00.000+00:002014-02-10T16:41:03.608+00:00Ride 5 of 2014, Feb 10th, wet, windy, cold, miserable, 28 bike destroying miles.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Legs were heavy after yesterday, I wasn't going to go out but the sun was shining, so I went out.<br />
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Almost the second I left it started raining so I headed back for a rain jacket, in fact it looked like light showers, perfect to test the Scott Divider jacket I'm reviewing for STW, light weight and allegedly totally waterproof.<br />
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So off I set, aiming to get to Jodrell Bank along a mix of on and off road, just short of 50 miles round trip, I've all day so will be pootling along at a sedate pace.<br />
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By the time I got to the river it was throwing it down, cold rain and hail, great.<br />
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By the time I got to the Lym end of the TPT I was cold, my legs and hands were soaked, my top half however was warm and dry, the rain just beading on the fabric of the jacket and rolling off, I was surprised at how effective it was.<br />
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By the time I got to Tatton Park I was wet, cold and bloody miserable so turned for home.<br />
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By the time I got home I was wet, cold, bloody miserable and hungry.... but not wet up top.<br />
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So, a soul and bike destroying ride, only positive was the jacket proved to be everything it claimed.Steve J Makinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08284307214886189898noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1687711690085245200.post-80786934092017466142014-02-09T16:39:00.002+00:002014-02-09T17:07:07.921+00:00Ride 4 of 2014, Salsa Fargo, TPT, Delamere, 68 miles<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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Met Greg at the wardens hut and off we set, no agenda other than to meet up with Nick and Rob at the Anderton Boat Lift, I hadn't factored in the headwind which meant we were running a little behind schedule but no problem, a quick call and the plan was readjusted, ended up at Delamere via the River Weaver path, and we'd managed to dodge the rain and hail that everyone else seemed to have suffered today.</div>
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By Delamere my legs were toast, cake, sausage butty (thanks Rob), two coffees, a cliff bar and a bottle of nuun restored enough strength to get me home, slowly....</div>
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68 miles in mud and against a headwind, pleased with that after just a week back on the bike, four rides in and already my legs are getting stronger, my waist lines is receeding and my alcohol intake was almost under control last week :-). </div>
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In other news the Brooks Cambium saddle I fitted to replace the Swift fitted like a dream, so much so I can see this being my saddle of choice for the Vaya and other long haul bikes. I'll be swapping out the Brooks bar tape this week, Lizard Skins 3.2 DSP tape is to replace it.</div>
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Its fair to say that I've given the Brooks saddles and bar tape a fair trial, probably 18 months use on the Fargo now, I love the look of it, and its reasonably comfortable but not enough to contemplate really long days in the saddle, I'm sad about that.</div>
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Riding chat was mostly about bike packing long routes, making plans, choosing kit, and of course bikes and new zealand, I can feel myself becoming something of a zealot in my espousing of this wonderful country, its fair to say that if Janet and I were younger we'd be seriously considering moving there.</div>
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For those who are interested this is what has piqued my interest.</div>
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http://kiwibrevet.blogspot.co.nz</div>
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<br />Steve J Makinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08284307214886189898noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1687711690085245200.post-50775959599189204662014-02-06T16:39:00.003+00:002014-02-06T16:44:20.797+00:00Ride 3 of 2014, Trans Pennine Trail, Bridgewater Canal, Surly Krampus<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Five hours sat in the saddle, slowly grinding my drive train away at about the same speed as my fitness is returning, seems a fair price to pay, the recent high rains have left their mark on my local trails, either heavy mud, deep puddles or both with not much solid ground.<br />
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Despite what I thought the Surly Knards were actually perfect for these conditions, not a great deal of grip but the big carcass floated over the top of the mud and the treads cleared well, it got to be quite fun when a turn was required and soon became predictable.<br />
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Sore sit bones today, in hindsight getting straight out on the Fargo with the Brooks saddle after such a long break wasn't the smartest move ever but served to confirm that the Brooks Swift saddle has served its time, I have a Brooks Cambium ready to be fitted, just need to find some bar tape to match the slate grey colour.<br />
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Other thoughts, I've been focusing heavily on the Kiwi Brevet after talking to one of the guys who was riding this event, it really appeals to me, especially after spending some time in New Zealand, its fair to say that this event (and the earlier in the month Southern Brevet) are appealing more to me than the Tour Divide.<br />
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I've entered the Welsh Ride Thing, after spending most of my riding time alone last year (by choice) this year I want to get out and ride with people, that is actually get outside on a bike instead of talking about it.<br />
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I have a long list of friends all over the country that I am going to visit this year, ranging from Cornwall up to Edinburgh, and lots of places in between, and I'd really like to push the photography and writing this year, maybe I can combine the two ?.Steve J Makinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08284307214886189898noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1687711690085245200.post-29624412099649745532014-02-04T17:23:00.002+00:002014-02-04T17:29:18.465+00:00Ride 2 of 2014, Llandegla red and black, Surly Krampus<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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First mountainbike ride of 2014 with Barney, one lap of the red and black, 2 stalls at the drops, no damage done, sore wrists and backside, coffee and the biggest slice of toast in the world to finish, tired now.Steve J Makinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08284307214886189898noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1687711690085245200.post-24855996000406030062014-02-03T16:51:00.000+00:002014-02-03T17:01:32.203+00:00Ride 1 of 2014, 28 miles, Salsa Fargo<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Its been 8 weeks since I last threw a leg over a bike, in that time I've been in New Zealand and Singapore, its been a whirl wind of travel, new places, new experiences, lots of smiles, lots of great food and drink and just short of 45000 kilometres of carbon based movement.<br />
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Because of this I have lost most of the fitness I gained last year and oh boy does it show, today was the first day back in the saddle and as is always the case that fitness hill is even steeper than last year, 28 miles today on the Salsa Fargo with a seeemingly ever-present headwind. I was only pootling along but it hurt, everywhere it could, sat here now 5 hours later and legs still tingling, its going to be a hard few months to get back.<br />
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But, I'm happy to have had the privilidge of doing what we did, and losing some fitness and gaining some fatness is a price worth paying.<br />
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<br />Steve J Makinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08284307214886189898noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1687711690085245200.post-33516279832485655892013-12-27T12:29:00.000+00:002013-12-27T12:29:11.143+00:002013 finished<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Still searching.....Steve J Makinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08284307214886189898noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1687711690085245200.post-39421252821613442752013-11-21T23:27:00.002+00:002013-11-21T23:27:39.611+00:004 months laternot got much to say<br />
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been riding bikes, been walking, been taking photographs, been enjoying my family and friends<br />
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you know, the usual stuff<br />
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been thinking too much, been drinking too much<br />
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been reading books again, been writing words again<br />
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you know, the usual stuffSteve J Makinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08284307214886189898noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1687711690085245200.post-9168053719890319842013-07-12T17:40:00.000+01:002013-07-12T17:40:01.454+01:002 week catch upLocal rides mostly with a few jaunts out of cheshire, well one actually.<br />
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Monday 1st, 28 miles along the TPT.<br />
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Tuesday 2nd, 20 road miles.<br />
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Weds 3rd, 25 miles around Gisburn Forest with Piers, we managed to get lost on man made trails !, and when Piers fell heavily for a few seconds I had that "oh shit" feeling but he manned up and got on with it :-), it was by any standards a good days riding.<br />
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Thurs 4th, 62 miles, up to Delamere, just pushing te miles up a bit now.<br />
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Friday 5th, 54 miles, Salsa Vaya, damned if I can remember where I went !<br />
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Weekend off bikes then boom, straight into a century, a real old fashioned imperial century, Salsa Vaya with 40mm tyres so not exactly easy, mix of 45 off road miles and 55 tarmac, 101 miles and I still felt good in the legs at the end, in fact it was only my wrists that were sore, pleased with that.<br />
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Monday 8th, 101 miles.<br />
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Tuesday 9th, declared this a rest day, I was tired so just drove to Delamere and had a spin around the singletrack, 8 miles and a picnic.<br />
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Weds 10th, 38 miles, rode with Barney to a hill, the biggest hill in Cheshire, slept on top and talked lots of shit. It was Barneys first ever bivvy so it was definatly a "not roughing it" version and I think he enjoyed it.<br />
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travelling relatively light<br />
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pub stops along the way<br />
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remembering some good times in the past<br />
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after some boil in the bag meals (which are delicious BTW) we spoilt ourselves with some fine cheese and wine<br />
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I think that we were in his spot<br />
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emptying the excess water ( I think thats what it was)<br />
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Sunrise shadow<br />
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Thursday 11th, early start and another amble through the lanes, 48 miles in total.<br />
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That means 384 miles in 9 days of riding, should help me through the Lakes 200 that I am starting on Sunday with another old friend, we aren't racing and not going to be strict on the route, but will be self sufficient and expect to have a least 2 nights under the stars.<br />
<br />Steve J Makinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08284307214886189898noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1687711690085245200.post-71892003400510403842013-07-01T16:45:00.002+01:002013-07-01T16:51:24.221+01:00MTB Trail LeaderPart of my redunancy package was £1000 that I could spend on "retraining" for a new career, with that in mind I booked myself on to the CTC's MTB trail leader and MTB tech leader courses, both at the Dales MTB centre.<br />
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Run by friends Stu and Brenda, its located just to the bottom right of this picture in the fanstastic setting of the dales, the course was run by Sam Cook, one of the legendary mountainbike racers of the early 90's (Sam was a sponsored Orange Bikes rider).<br />
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I turned up early on the Monday with an arrangement to go riding with Stu for the day, unfortunately I'd managed to sleep awkwardly and had a crook'd neck :-(, so as Stu had the lawns to cut I went out for a bimble on my own, just along the river and back, but enough to loosen things up a bit.<br />
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Tuesday dawned and with it big blue skies and sunshine, too good to miss a ride today, and as the course didn't actually start until 5 that afternoon I decided to explore. Once again heading up river to Gunnerside. I'd long ago seen that there are the remains of lead mines scattered around this area, scanning the map showed at least 2 locations.<br />
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Heading uphill in the blazing sunshine proved that my fitness is still sorely lacking, and that despite checking my map several times I managed to miss the right hand turn that would take me into the valley where the remains are, backtracking until I found the trail, I was presented with a lovely swoopy singletrack descent right down to the valley floor, hard to resist letting the Krampus fly.<br />
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Had a good long chat with a chap who had walked up the valley to see the ruins, he knew the history of the place well, and we both agreed that whilst we had arrived here for pleasure, the thought of doing a 10 hour shift having walked up from Gunnerside and then back again afterwards was not that appealing !.<br />
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Now that I'd dropped all the height, and looking down the valley at some very interseting tracks I decided to head down to Gunnerside by following the river, it was fine for a while, occcasionally getting too technical for my skills which meant the odd carry (also mindful that I was on my own and apart from the walker I hadn't seen anyone for hours).<br />
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I ended up in a lovely little wood, that would have been perfect but for the fact that I was carrying a 30lb bike, still it only took half an hour to get through on foot, once down I headed back to the river to follow the trail home, a nice day out, some 30 odd miles covered and back in time for the start of the course.<br />
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The course itself was most enjoyable, good folks and a great teacher, Sam has a nice way about him and gets across what he needs to without seemingly any effort, 2 full days of theory and field work and glad to say we all passed, so now I am a qualified MTB trail leader.<br />
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Driving home that night meant passing York so I picked up No1 daughter and a car full of stuff to be stored whilst she is away in New Zealand.<br />
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Last week was spent at home, just the occasional ride out in between showers, although one day I did get to Delamere for a play out on the new Cotic Solaris.<br />
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And then on Thursday finally linking the trans pennine trail with the Middlewood Way so that now when I head into the peaks I no longer have to endure the A6 through Stockport.<br />
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After a weekend away in Anglesey with Jan, this week will be all about riding bikes and not drinking, today I went out in the rain on the Salsa Vaya, 28 miles in under 2 hours without really trying at all, maybe there is a hint of fitness finally coming through ?Steve J Makinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08284307214886189898noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1687711690085245200.post-65164527932785159152013-06-11T13:51:00.000+01:002013-06-11T13:51:29.693+01:00S24Ois a picture is worth a thousand words ?<br />
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70 miles door to door, 1000 metres of climbing, 6000 calories.<br />
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day 1 - 40 miles, 12inch subway sandwich, chicken jalfrezi, chocolate pudding, tea, whisky, cold and windy, 5 hours saddle time.<br />
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day 2 - 30 miles, no food, little drink, downhill pretty much all the way, 2 and 1/2 hours saddle time.<br />
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<br />Steve J Makinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08284307214886189898noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1687711690085245200.post-79760634794464733882013-06-09T18:12:00.003+01:002013-06-09T18:20:12.953+01:00Sunburn on Anglesey<br />
Early start on Monday saw me at Conway RSPB for a stroll around the reserve, nothing of note to report but the salty air, soon enough I was back on the island and parked up at Beaumaris, the plan was to head north and explore around the Penmon headland then uphill stepply to drop down to Fedw Fawr for more bird watching, however....<br />
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3 miles in and I stopped at a car park to take in the view over the Menai Straits, propped the bike up and retreated to a bench, bang, over goes the bike, blown by the wind, rear mech hanger bent !<br />
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Being a good boy scout I had a spare hanger in my saddle bag, annoyed with myself for letting this happen I set about exhanging it, well, I got as far as unwrapping the multi tool to realise that there isn't a 1.5mm allen key on the tool, I had no choice now other to bend it back straight and hope it would last until I could find a suitable allen key. I knew that there wouldn't be any chance of getting one where I'd planned to go so headed back to Beaumaris, none to be found here but I was told that there was a hardware store in Menai.<br />
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5 miles in blistering sun later and I had the right size allen key in my possesion, but as the gears were now shiftng better than before I decided to leave well alone, if the worst should happen I now had the means to change the hanger out.<br />
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By now it was dinner time so I had a bag of chips (and half of the most disgusting cheese and onion pie ever) and headed over to llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch for a cold drink, and then back to plan A.<br />
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<a href="http://www.llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch.co.uk/">http://www.llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch.co.uk/</a><br />
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Along the way I stopped for a while to watch a Buzzard toying with a couple of crows, or was it the other way round ? and then on to the priory at Penmon for a scratch around, I've no religous beliefs at all but find old churches, well all churches, interesting places<br />
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Heading back to the car and another stop for a drink and cool down to be greeted with this wonderful view across to the hills of Snowdonia<br />
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And then a final explore, I'd spotted a well defined track just off the road last time I was here so decided to check it out, it was obviously a footpath but with no "no bikes" signs and no one around I headed up it, about a half mile in and the trail headed upwards into a thickly tree lined woods, then some wood work over a stream leading to a clearing and a middle ages castle that I never knew existed, nothing spectacular but an exciting find for me. On the way back down I could smell wild garlic so followed the trail (and my nose) to see where else this trail went, eventually coming to a stile and a "no bikes" sign, looking over the stile I could see the source of the smell.<br />
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30 hot and dusty miles today and I was toast.<br />
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Tuesday came soon enough and I decided to head west along the coast, once again to Cemlyn for an hour to start a new book, The Lands Wild Music by Mark Tredinnick, essays about the land, engrossing stuff but also requires a lot of concentration, I think this will take some reading :-)<br />
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Again, big blue skies, a light breeze, and no people !, moving onto Carmel Head and again no people, lots of Fulmars on the nest and a single solitary porpoise.<br />
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Lunch at the windmill and more churches and chapels to explore, another 30 miles, this time at a leisurely pace so not so done in at the end of the day.<br />
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Wednesday and Thursday I'd planned as walking days, and thats what I did, Newbourough Beach on Wednesday and then local to the hotel on Thursday.<br />
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I saw this old chap struggling along the beach on a standard mountainbike, he was enjoying his day out regardless and I thought it churlish to tell him about fat bikes on sand so we just chatted about the weather and the tides.<br />
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I called into South Stack on the way back, stonechats, wheatears, skylarks and more in attendance as well as the usuall Guillimots and Razorbills.<br />
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And then an hour at Cemlyn watching and photographing the Terns<br />
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more Terns here <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/45689323@N00/sets/72157633953635421/">http://www.flickr.com/photos/45689323@N00/sets/72157633953635421/</a><br />
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Thursday was a good 10 miles walking, headed to Cemlyn via the Wylfa nuclear power station, was atonished just how close I could get to the facility, presumabley I was being closely watched on the CCTV, more Tern watching, they didnt seem to be as successful at fishing this time, many coming back to land with nothing.<br />
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Then back to Caemeas for a sandwhich and then out the other way south to Llanbadrig church and Porth When.<br />
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2 pair of Choughs, numerous Fulmars and Gannets far out at sea.<br />
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Friday and time to head home, but of course the sun was shining brightly so more riding required, a quick spin out to the far side of Cemlyn, back to town and out around some new to me lanes on the other side, just seeing where they go and how I can link these up with others for a coastal back lane ride I'm starting the think about.<br />
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Bike packed in the car, and I'm away home, but then I'm thinking about the cream tea I had a Penmon on Monday, and I'm thinking that I'm not in a rush to get home....<br />
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Before I know it, the bike is out of the car, reassembled and I'm pedaling along the coast again, savouring this wonderful weather, by now I'm fed up of taking photographs, content to just spin along and again find a few more links for the coastal back lanes ride.<br />
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A quiet 100 bike miles and 18 miles of walking, many pints of beer, good food, lots of reading and sunburn to be proud of, another week of retirement ticked off :-).Steve J Makinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08284307214886189898noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1687711690085245200.post-85559828795722402013-06-02T20:36:00.000+01:002013-06-02T20:38:09.405+01:00working again .....Post Angelsey and I had a few days of work, photographing stuff for the CTC, it wasn't really work although I will get paid for it, best part though was spending time with my 2 favourite birds (well 2nd favourite after my wife obviously), getting time to catch up with their lives and time to ride bikes.<br />
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2nd best part was catching up with Biff and Ruth, albeit briefly.... 3rd best part was seeing Sam, again very briefly<br />
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No photos to share from this, but they will appear at some time, and I'll be back at the end of June to do more of the same.<br />
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Coming home early due to poor weather forecasts, of course they were correct and the right decision made, this allowed for riding from home.<br />
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Saturday saw a sharpish 35 miler, Salsa Vaya out to Pickmere and back<br />
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Tuesday a wet 15 miles exporing, change of bike to the old faithful Karate Monkey, along the canal into the city centre<br />
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Thursday a long and hard 63 miles, didnt eat breakfast, bonked like a schoolboy, stupid lesson learnt (I hope)<br />
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Friday a slow easy 47 miles, along the Cheshire lanes, to the fab cafe at Jodrell Bank<br />
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Sunday a fantastic 23 miles with Nick, nothing spectacular just riding along and chatting and enjoying each others company, hatching plans for more summer rides<br />
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and then Boom, I'm back on Anglesey, another week of touring my favourite place, exploring back roads and coastal paths, expect lots of pictures :-)Steve J Makinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08284307214886189898noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1687711690085245200.post-87078324019949692422013-05-24T14:46:00.001+01:002013-05-24T14:49:32.085+01:00Anglesey V2 pt2In light of recent events (ie me being knackered and not recovering very well) I took the Weds off as a walking and exploring day, I'd long wanted to find a couple of old abandoned chapels that I visited 25 years ago when doing the Parry's Mount book, only trouble was that I'd forgotten where they were !<br />
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A bit of map gazing and internet searching gave me a couple of possible locations, both proved to be correct, the first chapel known as the mud chapel has been left to rot away, such a shame as this was in service as recent as the 1960's, and of course still lots of family graves in the graveyard. When I last visited I was using a 10 x 8 plate camera, and although abandoned the roff was intact and the insides in reasonable shape, this time the roof has partly fallen in and the insides vandalised and rotting.<br />
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The 2nd chapel has been tended to and looked after, signs of people cutting the grass and not letting it deteriorate any further.<br />
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The rest of the day was spent walking the coast and marvelling at the sheer size and audacity of some of the bigger posher houses :-)<br />
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Thursday was back to riding day, I'd decided to follow one of the routes that have been chosen to best illustrate the island by bike, in this case the Copper Trail, basically taking a loop around Parry's Mount.<br />
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It was a great ride, once again blue skies but windy and still cool enough for arm warmers.<br />
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Friday and my last day, I decided to get some singletrack in so stripped the bike back down to mountain bike mode and went light so no camera, heading over to Aberfraw to park the car I remebered a back road from a few weeks back so headed off to Newborough from here, finally got into the forest and starting sniffing out the singletrack, not a huge amount but lots of cheeky trails, primarily built for horse ridewrs I think (when I say built I mean allocated) but as it was early morning midweek and there wasn't any horse boxes in the car park I hit it fast.<br />
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And then that was it done, my 2 weeks of adventure hadn't quite happened as I had planned, but I had rode my bike for 9 of those 14 days, I'd seen parts of Anglesey I hadn't before, I ticked off a climb that I've long wanted to do... but most importantly I'd had fun, better than working for a living :-)Steve J Makinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08284307214886189898noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1687711690085245200.post-73226986657435210302013-05-18T15:22:00.001+01:002013-05-18T15:27:17.658+01:00Anglesey V2 pt1Monday morning and off I head to Anglesey once again, this time with a forecast for mixed weather and a bed and breakfast booked for 3 nights.<br />
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I made my mind up that I wanted to ride eveyday without the added weight of the camping and cooking stuff, the Fargo was stripped of its panniers leaving just the bar bag and rack pack, 30lbs dropped instantly, but still around the 45lb mark when loaded with camera, binoculars and assorted stuff.<br />
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On the way over I wanted to ride up and over the Llanberis Pass, its long been on my list of roads to ride, so parking up at Betws Y Coed and turning right into a headwind !, what a surprise, the going was slow but purposeful all the way until the top. And then the going was slow and purposeful all the way to Llanberis, pedalling hard all the way DOWN the pass due to the brutal headwind.<br />
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A quick bite to eat and a coffee saw me heading back up, relishing the tailwind that now appeared to have turned around into a headwind, and just to rub salt into the wound it started to rain heavily and go very dark, dark enough to stop and fit some blinkies front and rear.<br />
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35 miles in just over 3 hours, and then to the island.<br />
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Tuesday was a semi repeat of my epic day from the previous week, following the back roads along the north west coast, up and down, up and down ending up at South Stack for coffee and cake and a sandwich and a coke and a clif bar....<br />
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One of the things I wanted to do with this tour was visit the quiet coves along the coast, and also explore the old churches and chapels that crossed my path.<br />
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The temperature rose during the day, and combined with lots of hard pedaling the dreaded "hot foot" appeared, first time since last summer !<br />
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But, it couldn't have happened at a better place, Cemlyn Bay, one of my favourite places despite (maybe because of) there being a huge nuclear reactor just over the water.<br />
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55 hilly miles in blue skies, with even more wind, that evening was spent in the bar at the hotel chatting with other residents and trying not to fall asleep.<br />
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A rest day required in light of last weeks issues :-)<br />
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<br />Steve J Makinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08284307214886189898noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1687711690085245200.post-11987449190332080022013-05-12T17:38:00.000+01:002013-05-12T17:38:09.351+01:00recoveredDidnt ride after Tuesday last week, weather was rubbish, legs achey, motivation low.<br />
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I tried once again to get the Delamere bivvy off the ground, its fair to say that this event has had more failed starts than a 72 Capri Ghia !, and guess what ?, we failed again, no matter though as Nick and I did get a near 20 miler arond Delamere in this morning, just managing to avoid the rain as we pulled up to his place.<br />
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A great ride, topped off by being the 1st customers through the door of the newly opened Eddisbury Fruit Farm Cafe looks great and we had great coffee and breakfast, we'll be using this place every time we hit the forest from now on.<br />
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/cheshireapplejucie">https://www.facebook.com/cheshireapplejucie</a><br />
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A few snaps from today<br />
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<br />Steve J Makinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08284307214886189898noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1687711690085245200.post-53171076577159910512013-05-08T09:25:00.000+01:002013-05-08T09:25:35.032+01:00recoverytakes longer to do these days, the efforts of last weekend wiped me out, I'm actually quite shocked at how much
Yesterday I decided to head to the peaks with the Salsa Vaya, I took the mudguards and rack off the bike as it was blue skies and sunshine, I drove to Langley with the idea of saving my legs for the hills.
Heading straight up through the forest immediatly indicated that there was nothing in the tank, 1st gear and slipping around on the loose gravel fire roads wasn't fun... at all.<br />
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I had to stop a few times to let the lactic drain from my legs but eventually made the top<br />
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Meanwhile, the sun did its thing<br />
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Dropping into the valley brought some relief, and I started to feel better, until the road went up again, it was at this point that I decided to call it a day so headed back via a loop of Shutlingsloe<br />
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Just over 12 miles, 560 metres of climbing, 1 hour 30 mins.
Feeling a bit let down with this I decided to make the most of the sunshine and headed over to Delamere where I'd heard that the trails were dry and dusty via NickTeetosugars, he was right, they were just about perfect, very few puddles, dry dusty and smelling of rising pine.<br />
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The Salsa Vaya was perfect for here today, fast and nimble, and in complete contrast to my earlier ride, there was only two places where I got caught out, one rooty drop off that I hit before I realised and felt the rear rim through the tyre, amazed that I didntpinch flat, and then at the bottom of a descent was a sand pit, the front tyre squirmed and I felt my self going over the bars, luckily for me the sand firmed up and the tyre squared up, I got through !
Still awaiting the new tent to be delivered, should be here either today or tomorrow, will take it over to my folks house to pitch it in their garden to see if I fit into it, if its okay then I'm thinking of heading back to Wales on Sunday to continue the tour.
Steve J Makinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08284307214886189898noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1687711690085245200.post-27423652439714221312013-05-06T18:00:00.001+01:002013-05-06T18:00:19.422+01:00Loaded Fargo, about 75lbs I reckon<a href="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8263/8713551269_7745593cac_c.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8263/8713551269_7745593cac_c.jpg" /></a>
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Loaded Fargo, about 75lbs I reckon
a trial run for more commiting tours, I learnt a lot....
4 Ortlieb panniers, bar bag and rack pack
5 litres of water plus 500ml of meths
Tent was a Lichfield 200 treklite, pitched perfectly, but although it was long enough on the footprint the tapered design meant both my face and my feet were touching the inner and this was uncomfortable, changing it for a Wild Country Zephyros 2 XL.
Down bag was my old Karrimor thats about 15 years old, combined with the Neo Air air mat made for a reasonably comfortable bed.
Food was 4 bags of boil in the bag meals, all tasty and quick to cook, stove was a Trangia, 3/4 full of meths was perfect to heat the meal and provide enough water for a brew.
I also carried a mix of Cliff bars and assorted other bars plus a few emergency gels, breakfast was quick Oats mixed with water and milk (not ideal but served a purpose)
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Clothing was 1 spare set of cycling clothing and 1 set of civvy clothing, down jacket and beanie, plus spare gloves, Rapha waterproof jacket and Altura waterproof pants, a pair of crocs were added for foot relief.
I relied on maps for directions but had a garmin 800 gps on board for mileage counting and back up, I also carried a Kindle, an Iphone and a headtorch, plus a power monkey for power when required.
I also carried a foam foldaway seating mat and a tarp, plus some spare rope etc for tying off the tarp or drying washing, I also had rear lights on the pannier rack and a front exposure light and a couple of front blinkies for on the roads when it was raining or getting dark.
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Not sure that I could reduce this by much for an extended tour, it might be worth seeing if I could fit it all into a frame/seat/bar bag to reduce the weight of the panniers and racks, obviously for a few nights out I'd go a lot lighter than this.
Riding the bike loaded like this took a bit of relearning, the weight made for slow pondorous steering and a few speed wobbles, it was hard work on the hills, I dont think I've ever changed gears so much.
Hoping the new tent will be here by weekend and I'll set off again and do more "research" :-)
<a href="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8128/8713609413_62c3f31c89_c.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8128/8713609413_62c3f31c89_c.jpg" /></a>Steve J Makinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08284307214886189898noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1687711690085245200.post-68104261308584630312013-04-26T19:58:00.000+01:002013-04-26T19:58:22.837+01:00Here we go....<a href="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8403/8603014237_893f11d0e6_c.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8403/8603014237_893f11d0e6_c.jpg" /></a>
Sat at home on a Friday night, waiting for the family to come home, picking up a Chinese takeway for the sake of conveniance, sipping a Sierra Nevada beer and hoping to still be awake at the end of Gardeners World, it could be a Friday night just like any of the others that have gone before this one...
But tonight is very different, as most of you will know, today I left work for the final time, redundant but happy, when I first found out about this over 3 years ago I made a decision to see this as an opportunity to change direction in my life and live a simpler (and hopefully happier) life, as always things didnt quite go to plan and here I am 3 years later just arriving at that stage post.
It has to be said that those 3 years have been the most difficult of my life, I wont go into the whys and wherefours of all that, but on a positive note those extra 3 years of wages have allowed me to be in an incredibley priveliged position that means I'll never have to work again, for money, thats doesnt mean I wont work but I'll have the luxury of being able to choose to do something that I want to do.
So, what next ?
Well tomorrow we head off to Anglesey for a family holiday, our eldest daughter Hana is heading to New Zealand in the summer, hoping to stay for a few years but who knows how long, its a chance for us all to be together for a while before she goes (Jan and I are heading out there next winter to catch up with her and her boyfriend Chris), once that is done the family will head back home.
I however will be leaving my car on Anglesey and heading south down the welsh coast on my Fargo, I'm running it fully loaded with 4 panniers, a bar bag and a rack pack, I have a tent, a stove, a change of clothes, maps (old fashioned style) a camera and a pair of binoculars, I also have no agenda or goal, I want to be free of plans and just see what happens. I'm hoping to catch up with various friends along the way in Llanberis, Machynlyth and Pembrokeshire, I'm hoping to sleep out in the open more times that I do under a roof, I'm hoping to read a book thats been on my list for over ten years now (John Muirs biography) I'm hoping I'm going to see wonderful sunrises ands sunsets.....
But, I'm not really bothered what happens along the way as long as stuff does happen, I'll let you know :-) Steve J Makinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08284307214886189898noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1687711690085245200.post-53412971964364698052013-04-21T11:21:00.004+01:002013-04-21T11:21:51.315+01:005 working days leftThis time next week I'll be in Anglesey and redundant.Steve J Makinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08284307214886189898noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1687711690085245200.post-5195729191807527862013-03-30T22:07:00.003+00:002013-03-30T22:07:51.785+00:004 weeks and countingEnd of April and I'm a free man, more info then Steve J Makinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08284307214886189898noreply@blogger.com0