Yes believe it or not coach is finally back in the saddle after an enforced 8 week absence. The weather couldn't have been better either and we enjoyed a fast and sunny 10.8 mile ride down to Limeslade (and back).Considering it was our first 'competitive' ride togther since January, our 14.5 mph average and time of 44 minutes 47 seconds was quite impressive (for our standard!). Our maximum speed was 23.7 mph. We're got another ride planned for Friday, so it'll be interesting to see how than one pans out in comparison.Tech Tags: Bike Limeslade Coach...
You can tell when half term hits these parts as riding down to Mumbles becomes more of an exercise in avoiding people (and their kids, pets, bikes, scooters, etc, etc) than head down and pedal like hell.Obstacles aside, it was a pleasant enough ride down to Verdi's and back (a 9 mile roundtrip) this lunchtime and it was nice just to be outside in the lovely sunshine. A fact which no doubt was emphasised by the number of other bikers I saw en route.Mrs DDWT had a nice surprise this morning when those lovely people from Venture Photography phoned her up to say she'd won a competition they were running - which she entered in Morrisons down at the Morfa retail park the other week. The prize, a free family setting and £75 voucher to spend on the snaps.Tech Tags: Bike Mumbles Photography...
Nowt much to report today - apart from me being like a zombie and feeling grumpy and lethargic. I suppose that's what you get for not getting enough sleep, having a look weekend off and watching your favourite football play sh*t (having travelled over 200 miles to watch them - MUG).In order to relieve myself of my mood, I decided to go for a 14 mile lunchtime bike ride down to Gowerton again. Thankfully it seemed to help a little and as the afternoon wore on my mood steadily improved. Not that anyone dared ask me mind, I think they'd twigged I was erm a tadge grumpy from this morning. It must have been THAT frown I have (or get occasionally!).Tech Tags: Goweton Bike Zombie Grumpy Lethargic...
My Valentine's day planning went into overdrive today and I finally got a place sorted for Mrs DDWT and I to have a splendid romantic evening at a venue which I shall disclose on the very day - it is a surprise after all. I've even got the babysitter sorted (Nana DDWT), all that's left for me to do now is get a gift (which for once I know what I want) and a card. Bingo - job done and unlike most blokes I'm actually organised for once!On the subject of sentiment, it was with a tear in my eye today that I heard DDWT Junior utter those immortal words for any working dad - "I miss you Daddy". I could have melted on the spot, it was a very special moment which I will always remember - especially as it was the 1st time he's ever said it.My training session (15) today was a 14 mile ride down...
JR decided to join me for my lunchtime ride down to Limeslade today - well he did for part of the way anyway. In fairness it was his first time out on the saddle since October last year, so I could hardly expect him to go at the usual pace. Just for the record training session number 13 covered 10.8 miles.Day number two of the potty training didn't go well, with DDWT Junior having a major tantrum i.e. kicking the potty over. Not good really and Mrs DDWT's patience was stretched to the limit. As the day wore on things began to settle down thankfully and they even managed to make some Thomas the Tank engine cakes - which were actually rather tasty!Whilst on the subject of DDWT Junior we've now had to buy him a new car seat as he's outgrown the last one - to such an extent that his head...
Sitting on my backside yet again today, but on a bike this time instead of a train. For training session number 10 (wahay I'm into double figures) I went on my usual 10.8 mile route down to Limeslade. The only trouble is that at the moment my speedo is kaput, so I've no idea of the time, speed or distance (should I choose another route) that I'm doing. Not a very good way of judging progress is it! I think I shall have to pay a visit to Wiggle rather soon.Tech Tags: Bike Limeslade...
It was with great excitement today that I got on my bike (the usual lunchtime ride) for only the 2nd time this year - for what was training session number 8 (poor compared to last years standards).Anyway with the sun shining I set off at a cracking pace towards my usual Monday destination (i.e. Forte's ice cream parlour) and was thinking to myself how easy it felt, especially considering I hadn't been out on the bike for a while. Ha ha, on the way back I found out exactly why it was so easy - the darn bloody wind was with me. The journey home was rather unpleasant given the the wind and I felt as if I was cycling on the spot (a la my teenage days when I used to visit the local gym and use the stationary exercise bikes). My quads were twitching by the time I got back to the changing...
Back to work today unfortunately, but at least it meant back to the old lunchtime training routine. How time has flown by over the Christmas and New Year break. I don't know if it's just me, but the older I get the quicker time seems to pass - sad really.The mere thought of returning to work kept me from going to sleep last night even though I was in bed by 10pm (in keeping with my main new year's resolution). The mental list of everything I needed to do on day one and thereafter seemed to grow as the minutes ticked by. So it was with great relief today that most people I spoke to seemed to have the very same problem. Just when you think you're the only one in the world who'd be so daft as to think about work in bed, you realise that you're probably in the majority. A sobering...
The holiday season has finally arrived for me today with it being my last day in work hurrah! Ohhh the thought of no more work until 2007 is lush.It was also my last lunchtime bike ride of 2006 and how fitting it should be down to Forte's ice cream parlour in Limeslade again - the place where it all started way back in January of this year. In terms of my fitness (and weight) I've come a long long way during the past 12 months. I'll stop there as I'll do a full 12 month review at the end of the year. Anyway, enough of the sentiment the 11 mile ride took 46 minutes 57 seconds at an average speed of 13.8 mph.A big shout goes out to the Bossman as well for getting all of the team a bottle of wine (a South African Merlot Shiraz in my case). Thanks to Coach DR as well - the DVD will take...
Despite the coughing and spluttering I decided to go out for my usual lunchtime bike ride, in the hope that it would help shift the green gunge that has made it's home in my sinuses. It seemed to help even if it didn't feel like it during the 11 mile ride.DDWT Junior was chuffed once again to see Santa visit Cylch Meithrin Trebanos today and duly celebrated with an energetic 90 minute stint on the giant bouncy castle that was also there. Needless to say he's still as wound as a clockwork soldier this evening!Websense have now appeared to see sense (ho ho ho) and remove the beta.blogger.com address from their master database - which now means I can happily block at work again (albeit during my lunch hour honest boss).Talking of Websense, I came across a rather interesting post on the...
Today is a momentous day - it's my blog's first birthday! Little did I think when I started out my mutterings for the minority that it would still be in full slow some 12 months later. It's been a chuckle looking back at what the house of DDWT has been up to over the year and I'm already looking forward to writing about the upcoming year.Whilst on the subject of blogs, any anoraks out there reading this (especially those interested in SEO) take a look at Matt Cutts blog - it's a very interesting and makes easy reading, which is an achievement in itself considering that search engine optimisation isn't the most invigorating subjects around.Any weekday lunchtime wouldn't be complete for me without at least one long bike ride and today's 22 miler fitted the bill nicely. The new course -...
Yet another sandswept bike ride down to Forte's ice cream parlour this lunchtime, as is the norm for a Monday. After having cleaned my bike gears and cogs yesterday, the benefits were plain to see and feel today - which made me even more ashamed of how little I actually clean my bike.The improvement in the bike's performance was mirrored by my performance with the 11 mile ride taking 44 minutes 28 seconds at an average speed of 14.6 mph.Tech Tags: Bike Sand...
With Christmas day just over 2 weeks away we decided to put up our Christas tree and lights today - much to DDWT Junior's excitement.We had some great fun putting all the lights, tinsel and baubles on the tree and it was lovely to see DDWT Junior helping out this year - as opposed to being somewhat bewildered last year. The blue icicle lights were a bargain at £12.49 (half price) in Wyevale garden centre and with 8 different modes for the flashing lights - it was great visually to watch.Today's weigh in saw me gain a 1lb on last week - which considering the amount of food/drink I indulged in on Friday I'm quite pleased. So just for the record I now stand (naked) at 16st 7lbs.I finally pulled my finger out today and cleaned my rather filthy and gear malfunctioning mountain bike. It's...
Another milestone in the life of DDWT Junior today with him reaching the 35 month old mark. What did he do on such a day, well he ended up in the doctors surgery getting some antibiotics due to having yet another stinking cold! I can't believe the little fella will be 3 in January - the time has just gone so fast it's quite surreal.Unfortunately I was once again training on my own today and decided to avoid the promenade in Mumbles due to the very strong winds. So I opted to take the bike path down to Gowerton instead a 14 mile or so ride.It's been somewhat of a ticket frenzy today with me buying both my Swans v Blades of Sheffield ticket and a ticket to my work's massive Christmas party in Play nightclub this coming Friday.Tech Tags: Bike Party Ticket...
Tell me why I hate Monday's, well I can think of plenty of reasons and none of them are to do with the hit single from the Boomtown Rats. Firstly it's back to work, then there's the sleep deprivation issue after having such a chilled out fantastic weekend and finally, there's that darn bloody lunchtime bike ride down to Forte's ice cream parlour in Mumbles.I really am getting bored of the same old Monday route and am desperate to find an alternative (but just as scenic) 11 mile route. I suppose if I'm honest it's lush during the summer months, but come autumn/winter it just turns into a windy, leafy, sand infested dirt track of a path.Anyway, grumpiness (is that a word?) aside DDWT Junior finally sent his letter off to Santa today and no doubt the Royal Mail will ensure he gets a...
Whilst getting up this morning at the usual time of 6:45 am, I ventured downstairs as per my normal morning routine to have breakfast (tumbler of orange juice and 4 weetabix). The sight that greeted me outside the kitchen window was truly amazing and it's been a while since I've seen such a vibrant red sky. I quickly took a few snaps, which you can see below.The red sky this morning - if you believe the old wives tale - would herald bad weather and although it wasn't a wet day, it was most certainly very very windy. This I found out to my expense during a very tough and ardous 23 mile lunchtime bike ride.Our route took us from County Hall in Swansea to Killay, Fairwood Common, Parkmill, Southgate, Mayals and Mumbles and took is 1 hour 37 minutes in total at an average speed of...
Despite still feeling very tired and extremely sorry for myself (aka grumpy sod) I decided to go for a lunchtime ride in the hope of giving myself a kick up the arse. Thankfully, the negative thoughts I had were soon out of my system when faced with the almighty gusty and sand strewn Swansea Bay.With the wind at my back, the return leg of the 11 odd mile route saw me flying along at a rate of knotts (pun intended) and I returned to work in a much more positive and energetic frame of mind. It's true what they say, the mind does rule the body and exercise most definitely does give you a lift.Whilst on my way home tonight, I managed to get a couple of quick snaps - albeit not very good quality due to my Sony Ericsson K300i mobile phone camera - of the Winter Wonderland in Swansea. It...
The title says it all really - apart from the fact that I must have been nuts - in undertaking a bike ride today in monsoon conditions. My thinking was that the somewhat 'enclosed' bike path down to Gowerton would be a better option that the 'open' path down to Mumbles. Yeah right.I got absolutely soaked and ended up with what felt like two pails of water in my shoes and a go faster mud stripe along my back. Thankfully upon my return, the cleaners cupboard - complete with refuse sacks - was nearby and the sacks proved to be very handy!!So purely for the purpose of my training log, the vital stats of the ride were a 14.5 mph average speed and a top speed of 25mph over the 14 mile ride.Tech Tags: Gowerton Bike...
After another rough night Mrs DDWT went along to the docs first thing this morning. The doctor took one look at her and declared that she had tonsillitis. I swollen glands were obviously a big giveaway! A prescription for penicillin soon followed.
It was the first time the she had ever had tonsillitus and in fairness it's the last time she'd want it as well. Fortunately for me, I'd had my tonsils removed when I was a young kid. Having said that I do have a sore throat and would be very surprised if I didn't catch something - having missed out on the last round of colds in the house of DDWT.
Despite feeling somewhat lethargic (and having done so for most of the week) Thursday is ALWAYS long lunchtime bike ride day and once again we set off at noon for a 22 mile ride around Swansea...
The return of my training partner today added fresh impetus to my lunchtime training session - purely due to the fact that we are both such competitive so-and-so's.
So today's ride took us around SA1 and down to Forte's (again) for what is fast becoming THE Monday lunchtime ride. I'm not sure if that is a good or bad thing really, as sometimes a change in route is often a booster in itself - time will tell though. The details (for the benefit of our training logs) were 13.72 miles at an average of 14.3 mph in about 57 minutes.
DDWT Junior made a visit to Neath today with Mrs DDWT and his Nana. He certainly used the time to good effect by getting plenty of "I like it" statements in during his visit to Woolworths and Wilkinsons.
I don't know what it is at the moment, but most Monday's...
A bizarre title you'll no doubt agree and you're no doubt wondering what the connection is, well perhaps I should let the good people at Boots explain all?There I was browsing the Boots website - whilst taking advantage of their triple points bonanza - when I came across a rather bizarre listing in the 'condoms' section of the site (I'm a great advocate of family planning you see *wink*).If you bothered to click on the screenshot above you'd have noticed that the 'lovely' (pun intended) Sarah Jessica Parker eau de parfum is listed amongst the 'inspiral', 'sensitive' and 'multi-ribbed' assortment of condoms.The fun doesn't stop there though - if you use the following link: http://www.boots.com/guidedsearch/newsearch.jsp?Nao=40&searchTerm=durex&N=0&inStockOnly=true&Ntk=all you'll...
I finally managed to do some training today - a 14 mile ride down to Forte's Ice cream parlour and back around SA1. The wind made it a hard workout, but I was just glad to be out and about after the past few days of inactivity.
Considering it's Halloween, we've had a very quiet night thus far - not that I'm complaining of course. But every Halloween I can't help but remember one very eventful evening I had as a student in Pontypridd - thanks mainly to my housemates at the time.
We (5 of us) were sharing a house not too far from a pub called 'The Forest' (no doubt ex-Ponty students will have fond memories of the place) and rather than be on the receiving end of trick-or-treaters, it was decided that we'd go on the offense instead. So when some local kids called round in true...
As Thursday is always our 'hard' bike training session day I knew that I'd have my work cut-out even before I realised how strong the wind was outside!
Thankfully I was prepared and had my high 5 bars and energy drink ready for the 22 mile ride around Swansea Bay, Bracelet Bay, Caswell, Langland, Murton, Fairwood Common, Killay, Derwen Fawr and SA1 (just for the sheer hell of it!). Well actually the SA1 bit was in order to measure our running course accurately - although in retrospect this was a bad move as the wide open spaces made us an even easier target for the gale force winds.
I did however take great pleasure in my performance, which I personally felt was the best to date (for a Thursday ride) and managed pretty much to keep my training companion in my sights for the vast...
It's been a potty few days in the house of DDWT in more ways than one. For some bizarre reason I forgot to blog yesterday, which wouldn't have normally been such an issue - but for the significant events that took place.
DDWT Junior actually used a potty for the very first time! Other parents will know the significance of this event, whilst the rest of you will wonder what the hell I'm on about. All previous attempts had ended in either tears or tantrums (or both) and even - yes I know it's sad - my attempts at er, urm, showing DDWT Junior how it was done proved fruitless. So now that he's tried it once, we're hoping it's the start of many more potty visits.
Perhaps even more potty however was my lunchtime bike ride (down to Forte's again - 11 mile roundtrip) in what can only be...
I was back on the bike trail lunchtime today with the usual Monday trip down to Forte's ice cream parlour and back - without stopping for a '99' I hasten to add. The 11 mile ride in very overcast and windy (averaging 15.8 mph) was in stark contrast to the almost summer feel of yesterday's car journey and walk to the same destination. So hello autumn!Mrs DDWT was majorly disappointed today to learn that her swanky (and very pink) new GT Aggressor 2007 moutain bike won't now be delivered until January 2007! Which is a wee bit later than the October 7th advertised when we bought it from Evans Cycles. Worry not though, for as you read this an email is winging it's way across the internet to Evans Cycles customer services to demand a refund.I'm also pleased to report that I had some...
Do you ever get one of those days when you instinctively know that you've got out of bed the wrong side and you could fight with your shadow? Well I'm afraid I've just had one of them. You can call it sleep deprivation or whatever, but it really sucks the big one as literally everything about the day seems to go pear shaped.
From brushing my teeth (and getting toothpaste on my tie) to dropping everything bar my trousers. Even work or rather the noddy emails I was getting were of the 'Gawd what is wrong with you people' type.
Hopes of my lunchtime bike ride improving my mood also went down the pan - my lethargic attempt to keep up with my companion over the 20 mile ride (County Hall - Gowerton - Dunvant - Forte's route) made sure of that. Afterwards it just made me realise how tired I...
I went out this morning for what is now becoming a regular Sunday morning bike ride at the sprightly time of 8:15 - when most sensible people would be in bed catching some zzzzz's.A 22 mile ride took me up the Swansea Valley before taking in Cwmtwrch, Cwmllynfell, Brynamman, Gwaun-Cae-Gurwen, Cwmgors and Pontardawe. It took me about 1 hour 40 minutes in dry but rather blustery conditions - which is fast becomning the norm these days whenever I seem to go out on my bike!The tale of the scale today was 16st 10lbs so a 1lb increase on last week. To be honest the odd lb here and there doesn't really concern me anymore - mainly because I'm doing so much exercise during the week that it (the weight) almost seems insignificant.Not much else to report really apart from a visit to Tesco's in...
For the first time ever, DDWT Junior actually helped Mrs DDWT make some 'Dora the Explorer' cakes today. Even more remarkably, he did so without making a major mess on either himself or the kitchen - quite a feat for someone who's only 32 months old (2 years 8 months).
I have to say they tasted great as well - especially when swilt down with a cup of Kenco coffee.
I also made a lame attempt to make a couple of paper rockets for DDWT Junior after tea - he thought they were great, but in all honesty I don't think anyone on Blue Peter would have said "Here's one we made earlier".
Despite feeling as though I'm set for a cold, I went out for a ride on my bike lunchtime (12 miles) to get back into the saddle as soon as I could after Sunday. It was really enjoyable and I'm glad to say I...
I was pleasantly suprised this morning when I get out of bed to realise, that despite my worst fears, I wasn't walking like John Wayne or feeling as though I'd been trodded on by a herd of cattle. In fact the only ailment I had was a sore throat!
Mentally it was a different case. After the euphoria of completing yesterday's bike ride, it was back to earth with a bump today due to the fact that I had no new biking objective on the horizon to focus upon. So having taken a day off from the bike today, I decided to set myself (and the others) a new challenge - by designing a 61 mile ride on December 17th!!
The idea is very much in its infancy, but the response from the others was lukewarm enough for me to press ahead with giving it more thought and hopefully making it a firm date in the...
After weeks of preparation, today finally saw the BikeWales West Silver (52 mile) ride arrive and I'm glad to report that I at least completed the course!
From the hazy memory I have of crossing the finishing line, I came 34th - out of a field of about 60 'silver' riders - in a time of approximately 4 hours and 15 minutes. My time certainly wasn't fast, but given the heavy rain, hail and strong wind I was more than happy with my efforts, especially as I'd NEVER done more than 35 miles before.
In finishing though, I have to admit that I don't think I've ever endured so much pain - not even playing rugby! The cramp in my left leg during the latter stages was immense and I think if I wasn't of a stubburn and tenancious nature I would have quite happily chucked the towel in.
I also took a...
