Well you, son of T de F Rider...

Insanity... for the insane (part one) This is the tale of how a slightly overweight, middle aged coach potato (but former elite athlete (sort of)) took on the Insanity Challenge. For those of you who don't know, Insanity, is a work out program owned by a company called Beachbody based in the US.  The program was put together by a guy called Shaun T (apparently that's his last name, but I cannot deny or confirm that he is Mr T's son). The name "Insanity" I think comes from the fact that the routine is a series of physical exercises done at an absolutely mental pace. The program guarantees significant results in terms of body shaping and weight loss in 60 days and I can immediately see why. You dedicate 45 mins per day to the workouts. It's a series of high intensity exercises going at full tilt with very short rest periods. Day one - Fitness test The fitness test consists of 8 separate exercises that you do for a minute each.  The idea is that you c...

You would probably guess that most people would say that they don't think about where they sit on a bus. But a recent study using 4 years worth of data* suggests otherwise.  This applies mainly to the frequent bus user in particular as they use previous experiences of bus rides to influence their decision. Infrequent bus passengers are initially distracted by the novelty factor to make any sort of calculated choice. This research is based on frequent  commuter passengers typically spending over 20 minutes on each journey. First of all, the bus type plays a big part in seating tactics. For example the back seats on a single decker bus are viewed very differently to the back downstairs seats on a double decker or indeed the upstairs back seats. Here's a break down of the areas and my advice on where to sit to achieve the ultimate goal for a sole traveller... A double seat to yourself... Lets face it.  First aim is to sit by yourself.  Secondary to that...

I do love riding my riding my bike.* *Now I need to put a slight caveat in here, as those close to me will say I'm not doing it very much for someone who loves it. I think this comes from being obsessed with bikes my entire childhood. Then by my senior years reality of how much training is required bites. I always loved the racing, I would've raced 5 times a week if I could (and often did) but the training was too much of a chore. That said, I should really say I love riding my bike, when I'm in the mood for it. And last night was a prime example of that. The sun was out, there was no wind and it was a pleasant temperature. I cruised round for an hour and loved it. Even managed a few PBs (yeah thanks for that obsession Strava). One thing I enjoy about riding my bike is the way you can let your mind wander. I don't need to think of anything whilst on my bike (maybe just the pain in my legs on every climb).  That leads me on to why I wanted to write down my wacky t...

People who know me well, will know that it only takes me to have a sleep and I will have forgotten what happened the day before. However, there is one event en grained into my memory from last October which is hard to forget.  The 2011 Etape Cymru. I was sort of goaded into riding last year by a former colleague of mine, but sneakily he only challenged me with 7 weeks notice of the event.  I went into a panicked training frenzy to ensure I could at least get round.  The event itself was eventful.  This is why I can still remember the experience so vividly. After a good start, I went off course, crashed and punctured, all before the famous Horse Shoe Pass.  Despite all that, the feeling of accomplishment was worth it.  There is no denying, the course is brutal, but the scenery is fantastic and to ride that far on closed roads is such a rare experience. Even though I have hardly looked at my bike since that day last October, I feel drawn to...

I discovered from Twitter, I think, that racing is returning to Birkenhead Park this year.  This prompted me to writing a little blog on my experiences through the 80's and early 90's of my all time favourite course. I actually raced around the park on 44 separate occasions and won there 6 times. Before I get into the story of my times racing round the park, I will give a little background history, on the park itself. (Oh blimey, I'm almost writing an informative blog!) For the uncultured of you reading this, Birkenhead Park was opened in 1847 and was the first park built with public money, after the town of Birkenhead asked Parliament for the powers to use the money to build a municipal park.  More famously though, the designer of New York's Central Park  Freddy Olmsted visited Birkenhead Park and used some of the features from it in his design for Central Park. Birkenhead Park has recently been the subject of an £11.5 million renovation, fund...