You'll Go Blind

posted by Jaitu at 22:19

While browsing a site that has some cool movies of local mountain bike trails around the Surrey Hills I noticed some snowy thumbnails. So I've linked to the two below for the benefit of ElDiablo whom I know is still feeling the need.

No Snow? You Should've Gone To Tignes


Tignes 2004-2005-2006


For anyone wishing to watch the MTB movies you can find them here.

Gentlemen, Start Your Engines.

posted by Jaitu at 21:31

Last weekend marked the start of this year's NASCAR season at Daytona and true to my word I made the effort to watch the races. I watched the two mid-week qualifying Duel races, the Busch 300 mile race on Saturday and Sunday's 500 Mile Nextel Cup event. So far I have to say I'm enjoying it more than I expected. I'm starting to get to know some of the car and driver combinations and even understand some of the rules.

--- SPOILER ALERT ---

I put that spoiler alert there despite the fact that it's now Friday so there can't be too many people who don't already know the outcome of the race and are keen to keep it that way. The finish to the Daytona 500 was a fairly spectacular affair. After the best part of 500 miles a caution was called with around 6 laps left to run. The race was red flagged after a few more laps and the cars stopped on the circuit behind the pace car while debris was cleared. This meant the race would finish under what's referred to as a 'Green, White, Chequered' scenario. This basically means that the cars would run again, be shown the Green flag to restart racing, the next lap the White flag signifying the final lap and finally the Chequered flag and the end of the race. Normally if another caution is thrown during this time the race is immediately over and the order of the cars on track at the time of the Yellow (caution) flag being shown becomes the final placing.
On the final lap a handful of cars began an assault from the high lane. Kyle Busch moved up to try and halt their run but had fall back into the lower groove. It appears this unsettled the car on entry into the final corner and he put his left front wheel onto the apron of the track causing him to lose the car and trigger a large amount of carnage. Only the two cars ahead of him really escaped and NASCAR kept the race under Green flag conditions until they had completed their drag race to the line before throwing the caution. In amongst the chaos behind them Clint Bowyer in the O7 Jack Daniels car got flipped and crossed the line in 18th place on his roof and on fire. It was quite a finish to a very long race.

The clip below gives a quick recap followed by the Green, White, Chequered and ultimate melee.


On a not entirely unrelated note I also happened upon this clip while looking for the one above. I thought we didn't know how to deal with icy roads. You'd expect people in Portland to have a better idea of what to do.

Snow Day

posted by Jaitu at 07:55

As correctly predicted by the Met Office we've had three or four inches of snow overnight. Surrey looks more like ElDiablo's photos of Tignes.

Needless to say I left the bike at home today.

In truth, although there is more snow on the ground than a fortnight ago there doesn't appear to be ice beneath it and clearing the car was a matter of brushing off the thick powder with no scraping required. The roads seem to be a lot slushier than last time and the stretch where I became closely acquainted with the tarmac a lot less treacherous. That said, the precise spot where I got my asphalt is still hidden below a cake of packed snow with no bitumen evident.

Traffic will no doubt be in chaos again. It always amazes me, and most people I know, how badly England reacts to a little snowfall. Back when I was a child, [cue: sentimental music as the flames rise higher in the fireplace] snow in winter was not an unexpected or an uncommon phenomenon. I'm sure it still caused problems with transport but we're supposedly far more sophisticated now.

Currently there are only two of us in the office so far. I wonder how many others we'll see today and when.

Fate Wants Me Fat

posted by Jaitu at 21:54

True to my word I have continued riding to work so far this week. I am beginning to see worrying signs though.
On Monday I rode into work despite some obstacles as I previously mentioned. That was obviously Sign One.
Yesterday I rode in with no problems and as the weather and light were much improved I even returned through the trees. This was not what Fate wants for me. Fate wants me off the bike.
Fate wants me fat.
Today we awoke to a blanket of snow. Not huge amounts but enough to bring a great nation like ours to it's knees. Sign Two.
I bravely set off avoiding tyre tracks in the snow and sticking to the fresh white surface where I was guaranteed firm footings only an inch or two below. As the tributary side roads of our area slowly joined and commingled in to potentially stronger streams of traffic the amount of road surface not already rolled smooth by passing cars rapidly decreased. Suddenly I was riding on a plane of sheet ice that stretched the length and width of the immediate road. With elegance and grace akin to that of the most experienced practitioners of Tai Chi, I landed flat on the tarmac. Sign Three.
A close by group of school kids paused in their snow ball fight to see that I was OK. I replied 'It was bound to happen sooner or later' and dragged my bike across the glassy tarmac to the assured traction and relative safety of a grass verge. No sooner had I got back on than a scrubbing sound drew our attentions to a VW Golf which sailed slowly from the patch I had just vacated, through the T-junction and thudded up the kerb on the opposite pavement. Sign Four.
Once on the main road everything went smoothly. The road was clear of snow, ice and slush and the traffic was hardly moving. I was able to ride straight up the middle of the road overtaking everyone and still only on the middle ring. I climbed my way up the cycle path and around the fallen trees and made it to work safely. Take that Fate.
Come time to leave for home I discovered a flat front tire. Cheap shot. A colleague gave me a lift home and I'll not be riding tomorrow.