Skyride Summer Cycling

The spring and summer brought the opportunity to take part in Skyride, the British Cycling and Sky sponsored programme for free local cycle rides. I had ridden a couple of these rides in previous years, on pre-defined routes led by experienced cyclists. The nice thing is Skyride offer a range of rides, from short beginner rides, normally off-the-road on traffic free paths, to longer road rides for those more comfortable and confident on their bike. So not only can it be a great introduction to cycling but can also be used for riding out with a group for those who don’t want to commit to club rides or do anything too competitive. Friendly social rides is what the Skyrides are all about and they happen throughout the country.

I was able to get more involved by doing the ride leader training this year. A one day course focused on leading a group, and the essential safety arrangements. We were taught to do the M (or W) check for checking cycles over. Group riding is different, and the practical training out on roads and paths made sure we could be responsible for the group. Traffic gaps that as a single rider you would think that’s OK, are not the same gaps suitable for a group, “imagine you’re one long vehicle” our female instructor reminded me! There are normally at least a couple of ride leaders with the group, and one of these will be the ride leader on the day, who will be first aid trained. Being first aid qualified from my other sporting activity I was able to apply for rides as either the ride leader or the assistant ride leader, the ride leader having to be first aid trained and doing the paperwork, otherwise exactly the same roles.

Once ride leader trained you have access to the back-office skyride website to find rides and apply for rides. You do this online and get notification when you have been selected. As ride leader you at least need to know the route so for my rides I went out there and rode them the week before, to check the route and the road and traffic conditions. As mentioned the rides vary and so it is easy to find the kind of ride you enjoy, everything from short slow sessions with families to more rides suitable for chain-gang roadies. The latter actually doesn’t really exist, they’re just a bit longer, and as we go at the pace of the slowest person then it depends upon the group on the day! I wanted to experience them all so applied for a mixture of rides and routes, from traffic free cycle paths through parks to a forty mile road ride. With the latter we all stopped mid-way at café for coffee and cake refuel!

The rides are great way to meet other cyclists and learn new routes. You can even use them when away on holiday or visiting. The skyride website has all the details, so next spring when its time to get on your bike, come and join us.

Cycling Capers

Being part of Sustrans I have been regularly riding parts of our national routes. As much of this is off-road it could be uncomfortable using my cycle which is a 20+ old racing bike. Off-road in this case meaning off the roads, using cycle ways and mixed routes, rather than MTB style off-road. Some of these paths are quite gravelly and can be muddy, all conditions not best suited to my bike with its thin road wheels and drop handlebars. Indeed my bike is so old that it has the gear changes on the down tube, not on the brakes/handlebars. Finally on one ride the gears jammed yet again, so the walk home made me start thinking of a replacement

Having not bought a bike for years it’s a bit of shock how much they are. Fortunately for me our company is one of those that have a cycle scheme. There are different versions of the scheme, but all allow you to request a certificate via your employer, that you then take to the cycle shop to exchange for your cycle and equipment. You can add necessary cycle gear like helmets, racks, etc. You then pay for this monthly, deducted from your salary, so saving you having one big outlay at the start. You also save as you pay this off over 12 months deducted directly from your salary, saving tax and NI, so that you end up paying less for the bike than you would if you bought it for cash. Schemes differ but mine gave me a choice of all the major cycle shops, and worked quickly and well, from joining the scheme to collecting the bike and riding away all within a month.

The hard bit is choosing the bike. I wanted a flat handlebar one as its easier to ride than my racing style one, as well as more comfortable for the kind of riding I was doing. In my cycle enthusiast day the bikes were 5 and 10 speed, with two chain rings. Now they are all multi chain sets with a huge range of gears. After riding some I found these were mostly redundant gears that force you to change quickly from one to the other. It must be a fashion thing, or easier to just mass produce, as I’m pretty sure we don’t really need 27 gears to get from where we are to where we are going. In the end I settled on a hybrid cycle from Giant, as it was comfortable and easy to handle. Once I started to ask them to add mudguards and a cycle rack they asked if I wanted to order the ready prepared version, the escape city, which comes with this and a stand. I didn’t really want a stand but they can be easily removed so ordered that one. I also added some panniers, as its far easier to commute with a set of removable panniers, than slog around with a rucksack, which is what I tended to do.

Having had the new bike for a few weeks I’m still just getting used to it. It’s a lot more comfortable on the off-road bits and really handy with a set of new panniers. In the old days panniers were either thin nylon bags or heavy voluminous cotton carts, these new ones are smart, trendy, come with lots of easy open pockets and bags and a cover and carrying strap. Great stuff. Now all I have to do is go cycling and with the better weather forecast that is looking a possibility.

Running with Wolves

Nothing to do with running with Wolves really. Just following them has been hard work as they have plummeted disastrously. Two years ago Wolves were in the top league in the world, playing the likes of Chelsea, Manchester United and Man City, Arsenal and Spurs, to be followed by dropping straight down and out of the championship league, to now start the 2013/2014 season in League One.

The Wolves management team have overseen the removal of Mick McCarthy, as they struggled during 2012 in the premier league. Then the replacement of loyal but totally out-of-his-depth Terry Connor who tried to keep them up, and failed. Their arrival in the championship league, for the 2013 season, where they had the intent to get straight back into the premiership, saw the appointment of what may have been a sound replacement in Stale Solbakken. Stale tried to change things but was dismissed mid-season while still in 18th place in the championship. What did Stale do? One opinion says he didn't understand English football and was a poor appointment by those who didn’t have a clue how to recruit a manager. Another view is that his vision was not given the chance to change things around, and over-paid players and a management who wanted to micro-manage meant he was isolated and became the latest blame-boy. This led to his replacement with Dean Saunders, who was took 10 matches to earn his first club win, and oversaw the by now divisive team continue to struggle and finish the season relegated. Saunders never looked like he could get Wolves playing the way they should, and led loyal fans to be critical of Jez Moxey’s astute financial management which did not translate into any football acumen.

For say what you like, Wolves have managed their financial situation well. A club with an illustrious history, they are respected as one of the founders of the football league, and the European cup. Wolves won the league title three times and the FA cup twice between 1949 and 1960, and were respected as champions against top European teams during these halcyon days. Hard times have followed since, but the modern Wolves were established with Steve Morgan owning the club and Jez Moxey as Chief Executive. Their ground is the impressive Moulineux, were they have played since 1889. A venue still just a few minutes walk from the city centre. The new Stan Cullis stand has been built during their most recent history of relegations, and seems to stand as silent criticism of the club’s football ability.

For over two years, as plenty of people never saw Mick as a premier league manager, fans have worried and fretted over who should be the manager. Between replacements, and the lack of club communications fans saw everyone from ex footballers to ex England football managers as their saviours. With relegation to League One the problem became worse, now we needed a good manager but someone who could understand the sheer relentless reality of football in league one. No more Manchester, instead Oldham and mid-week visits to Crawley. Who now? Current managers with experience of staying alive in the lower leagues, managers who were available and had indifferent CV’s but had lived through turbulent times, those young and inspiring but without the damage from shock relegations, a trusted old hand to keep everything stable and level and make sure things didn’t get worse? Someone with history of bringing in their own support teams and building a team through well-run football academies and astute loan players. Just a big name, Neil Warnock or Roy Keane. Time to bring back Stale?

Instead Wolves took some time and announced they were looking for a head coach and not a manager. Nearby rivals, WBA having achieved success with this model. Was this a stroke of genius, a sign of a revitalised Wolves or is it yet another sign of the let’s have a change and do it cheap attitude the fans have come to resent. There were deep worries. After removing Mick McCarthy in 2012, Mick went on to manage Ipswich, who are still in the championship. Rather than recruiting or replacing Mick the management promoted the ill-fated Terry Connor, who was an internal recruit having been an assistant to Mick. What looked to many as a poor football decision and/or a wrongly-advised cheap option. The appointment of Stale brought enthusiasm for new continental style football, instead within 6 months he was gone, after a poor FA cup run losing to Luton. Doncaster boss Dean Saunders, who like Terry never seemed at ease with the task, replaced Stale, and was sacked months later. So the fans worried even more about this rush to hire and fire.

Then finally right at the end of May it was announced. Kenny Jackett is the new Wolves manager, sorry, head coach! At least this appointment makes some sense. Jackett did well at Swansea and Millwall and has at least proved he can do stuff rather than just talk about it. The big club that isn't, Wolves may make his name. For Wolves fans there is hope that this is true. A worrying 12 month rolling contract may provide some sense of wariness around what management expects. At least for now there is time, to sort out the players, get a grip on the team and get a proper team playing together in those gold shirts. The new season is coming.

Design your own museum!

The design museum awards are always an interesting amalgam of what is new, with what’s considered hot and topical. It’s normally challenging and interesting to review what has been included. This year the overall design award has gone to the gov uk website. Um that’s a bit dreary and boring isn’t it? I mean a website? Among all the other things they could have selected, from the categories of Architecture, Digital, Fashion, Furniture, Graphics, Products, and Transport. They chose a website. It strikes me as a bit dull and un-inspiring. Mind you so is the design museum website. Looking like it was designed in the 1980’s with that tight text and links all over the page, it’s a pain to navigate and unforgivably doesn’t provide any description or images for the design shortlist. Maybe the design museum should take a real long hard look at their chosen winner. On top of that they should think about marketing the shortlist better, not everyone can get down to London and visit the place and they would be doing us all a favour. For those of us outsiders here are some of the highlights. The wind map is baffling. It takes a while to load but it’s worth it, click on the live map and view. Eerie, surreal, hypnotic. Like the early years science class with moving iron fillings and magnets. The Mando Footloose Chainless Bicycle is not just chainless but is also a folding bicycle. Innovative. Bit more exciting than a website eh? (OK i will stop now). While the aptly named donkey bike aims to be the “pick-up truck of bicycles” according to industrial designer Ben Wilson.

The weather outside is frightful…

For those of us of a certain age to hear “VIKING. Southerly or southeasterly 5 to 7, occasionally variable 4 in north. Slight or moderate. Snow showers. Good occasionally poor” brings back memories of listening to the shipping forecast on the radio. What it meant nobody knows, when was it on, seemingly always. I’ve recently started reading a book about the iconic BBC shipping forecast, and first of all it’s apparent that there are people who do know exactly what the forecast means, those professional seafarers who need to know what they are heading out into. One of the attractions was the feeling that you were listening in to some private conversation, like listening to a foreign language conversation, that although you couldn’t understand it, the intonation spoke volumes and told you this was important. Something significant was happening out there. Reassuringly you were safe, and even if VIKING become “hurricane force 12 or more”, it was happening somewhere out there, to people who understood what it meant and where equipped to deal with it. More importantly it wasn’t suddenly going to come crashing through your radio loudspeaker and flood the house.

But with the advent of digital radio the shipping forecast is lost. No more four times daily broadcasts on the radio, unless you happen to be able to tune into Radio 4 Long-wave. If the latter then you can listen in to the arcane forecast and don your sou’wester. But along with digital comes web access, so actually you can listen to the shipping forecast as well as get access to it online. And if you don’t have a copy of the book you can even look up the shipping areas (Tyne, Dogger, German Bight) and find out what it all means.

To do so, would it be like Mark Twain learning to navigate the Mississippi , would it dispel the mystery and magic. No. Somehow the shipping forecast is too ingrained, too much part of our national psyche to be so easily dispelled. That, plus the fact that there is too much majesty and exotic romance in Forties, Bailey, Rockall, Fisher; and to really understand it and penetrate the mystery you would have to be a child of albion brought up on the sea. So it is fitting that the only shipping area to be named after a person is FITZROY, which replaced Finnistere in 2002. Fitzroy founded the shipping forecast, along with the MET office, so it is to him we owe our thanks. Westerly, veering thankful to moderate.

Railway Mania

The recent revitalisation of our railways is very welcome, albeit a little unexpected. Leaving aside the day-to-day fiasco’s of delayed trains, overcrowding, expensive tickets, as well as the usual day-day exasperations. Or the HS2 debacle of an entire new planned (sic) route that will take thirty years to build, on the promise to save a half hours journey time (presumably sometime within that time period) and obliterate entire green belts in the process. Beyond all that - there are encouraging signs that the railways are no longer the forgotten and under-valued public transport it seems to have been regarded in the past decades.

For a start there are revitalised lines. After a short campaign of some 41 years, a restored train service between Swanage and Wareham is to happen by 2015. This is a picturesque line in the tourist county of Dorset with Enid Blyton type views of the dramatic Corfe Castle. Should be a great tourist attraction as well as practical rail route. While up in Whitby the Coastal Communities Fund is investing in the North Yorkshire Moors Railway which will fund a new platform at Whitby for this heritage railway. Along with other renovation work this will hopefully boost the tourist economy. Rumours that the Dracula line is to be dug up are untrue say local reporter Bram Stoker. OK I made that last bit up!.

More seriously, many of our great train stations are being restored. There is the newly rebuilt St Pancras station in London. A great restoration of this grand gothic style building. Nearby King's Cross station is also been revitalised. What used to be a dirty scruffy looking area has been re-modelled to represent our traditional railway architecture in an impressive contemporary setting. The Grade 1 listed building, designed by Cubitt in 1852, has been restored in partnership with English Heritage, retaining and displaying many of the original features. With a stunning new concourse, the largest single-span structure in Europe, along with its glass mezzanine walkway already built, the final phase is due soon with the removal of the tatty old green signage and the installation of the new public square, bringing a European feel to the place.

The new London Blackfriars station, to be built on the Victorian bridge of 1886, is set to be a landmark, being the first station to span the river Thames. An innovative roof, made up of over 4K solar photovoltaic (PV) panels will provide over 50% of the stations energy needs, and will reduce CO2 emissions. There will also be a rain harvesting systems and sun pipes for natural lighting. While in Birmingham New Street there will be a whole new larger concourse, as well as a giant atrium, allowing natural light throughout the station and to all 12 refurbished platforms, which should be completed by 2015.

Further afield the Grand Central terminal in New York has just celebrated one hundred years, the brainchild of William Wilgus who is reputed to have said "It was the most daring idea that ever occurred to me”. And it is not just trains and buildings. Recently thousands of people applied for the 18 jobs as train drivers on the new Borders to Edinburgh rail route. Scotrail says that they are dealing with the sheer volume of applications, representing that 125 people applied for each post. It seems affection for our railways is endemic and at last our national institution is being looked after.

You get the high street you deserve...

There have been big high street casualties before – it’s still a surprise not to see a Woolworths on the high street. Recently Jessops (the camera people) have gone into administration in January, now so have Blockbuster and so have HMV. Following Comet’s failure at the end of last year it’s a huge impact on the high street and a devastating impact on all the experienced people working in these stores. While many economists can talk dispassionately about “effective business models” and “slow to respond to market changes” analysis, maybe there is a more worrying trend, that is also more personal, showing up here.

Repeatedly consumers are proudly boasting that they see an item in high street shops and then buy it elsewhere – saving money and often (or even exclusively) purchasing online. It might seem economic suicide not to adopt this model – I mean we all like saving money in these hard times. But for many years I return to the same shop to buy new running shoes. The reason is the service, they know about running, they provide helpful advice and guidance, and by supporting them I am keeping them in business to continue for me and others. I can definitely take all the details of the exact running shoe that I like, and have tried out, and they have taken so long to advise me about, and go home and shop online and save lots of money. But I don’t. And I’m not sure that I agree with those that so obviously do.

It’s not just bad manners. In some ways I feel such people are almost abusing some tacit trade-off between buyer and seller. So while I recognise that companies that don’t change or provide poor service or charge inflated prices don’t deserve to stay in business; I don’t agree with a model that adopts a "view for real and then buy online". Maybe as a society we truly will get the shops we deserve. As such shops disappear and we don’t have any choice but to shop online maybe there will be a business boom in smaller specialist shops again. And in a final irony, quite often at my favourite running shop, they nip into the back and re-appear with a pair of identical shoes I’ve chosen that are last year’s colours and offer them to me at a big discount.

Just going for it

Ideas like let’s run from the top to the very bottom of New Zealand. Oh and try and do it in record breaking time.....

It’s one of those ideas that probably starts with a kid and a map of the world.

But to actually do it - well that’s something else. Jez Braggs is running from the very top to the very bottom of New Zealand. Really just on that traditional principle of because it is there. But he is also going to try and do it in the fastest time - some 50 days of running in diverse terrain of over 1,800 miles.

As well as the exhilarating run along the Te Araroa (The long Pathway) he will also be taking a canoe interlude with an 80-mile canoe trip down the Whanganui river, halfway down the North island, and a paddle across the demanding 17-mile Cook Strait expedition. It helps that Jez is one of those ultra-runners so should be fit and experienced enough to actually be able to do it. As he says “in training for the big trail races, I noticed that the parts where I had the most fun was when I was on long runs in remote places; I really enjoyed losing myself in the runs where the journey was more the point than the destination”

The greatest thing about such expeditions is just the sheer boy-hood (you can replace that with girl-hood if you prefer) adventure of it. It’s just one of those things you wish you could do yourself. Next best thing is to read Jez’s adventures about it. Enjoy!

Looking forward and looking good for cycling

So we had the immense highs of the Tour de France with Bradley Wiggins and Mark Cavendish, aka Wiggo and Cav. Then the wonder of the Olympics and especially the British track team. Only to be followed by the lows of Lance Armstrong being stripped of his cycling achievements and the incessant arguments and counter arguments over whether it was true or not. Then Wiggo, Cav and the British Cycling coach Shane Sutton all had crashes in separate incidents. A real post-Olympic low.

Changes are underway and Wiggo, Cav and Shane are all back on their bikes and the GB cycling team are already back and competing. On the track Britain's Olympic champion Laura Trott has won omnium gold at the Track World Cup, held at what is now the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome in Glasgow. Welsh cyclist Becky James partnered with Jess Varnish to win gold in the team sprint. Importantly, Dave Brailsford, Britain's performance director, who many view as the mastermind behind British cycling success announced he would lead the cycling team at the 2016 Olympics. Brailsford is excited about another crop of talented youngsters and described 18-year-old Elinor Barker's World Cup debut as "outstanding". While Brailsford may have had lots of other opportunities open to him he says “You stop, assess things, work out what you want to do. That's a natural thing to do. It was the same after Beijing - you get a bit of success and people are interested, keen to know how you do it. If I wasn't enthusiastic I'd stop, because I don't need to do this. The moment I stop enjoying it I won't do it.". UK sport, the governing body and responsible for Britain’s coaching development policy, are implementing changes for sustained progress and that does mean there are changes among the existing crop of coaches.

The head coach of GB’s track and field events is to depart his role. Charles van Commenee has guided the likes of Mo Farah, Jessica Ennis, Greg Rutherford at the London Olympics and has chosen to step down. The British athletic team had a medal target of between five and eight for London 2012, but Van Commenee set the bar at eight and said he would walk away if it was not achieved. Despite finishing with six, four of which were gold, he has decided to leave the team. He commentated "Success can be measured in many different ways. And I would say that if you look at all the factors from every angle it was a success. But the thing is I have been very clear, throughout these four years, about what targets mean and the difference between a target and an expectation, and a prediction and an ambition. I could easily have answered all the time: 'If it doesn't happen, we will look into the reasons why we didn't hit the target. Then we will make changes and adjustments.' Which is fair. That's what happens 99 out of 100 times. But I wanted to make a clear statement about these things because it helped – and still helps – the new culture of no excuses and sanctions. In other words, accountability is important, and I wanted to put my credibility and my destiny on the line, saying, 'Guys, this is a serious business. We need to change here. And I will lead'."

What an inspiration. There is no doubt Van Commenee set the scene for the athletic team success, the same as Brailsford has brought real sustained success and progress to British Cycling. Their efforts outshine sports like football where managers and coaches seem to be replaced on a whim. Maybe this is a new era for cycling and the drug cheats can truly be on the sidelines of sport, as they so justly deserve to be. And maybe this should be a model for some of our other “high achievers” – the politicians and bankers and other movers and shakers. Maybe they should measure themselves against these coaches to see if they are more the Lance Armstrong/Ferrari type or more the Brailsford and Van Commenee. If the latter we salute you!

Nice building, shame about the architecture!

With six building being shortlisted for the RIBA Stirling prize including the Olympic stadium it was a bit of a surprise that the £82m plant research centre at the University of Cambridge won the UK's most prestigious architecture award. Recently the Sainsbury Laboratory was named best new building by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA). The two-storey building, set in the University of Cambridge's botanic gardens, includes high security laboratories, growing areas and the university's seed store. Images of the building make it resemble some sort of eastern bloc monolith, albeit trendy and modern. Their website has all the appeal of a council-operated site.

Also short-listed was the Hepworth Wakefield art gallery. According to the BBC their director says the winner “isn't a building that excites me". Writing on his blog, he continues "I want to be a gracious loser with regard to the Stirling Prize, but it was especially hard to lose to a building with an enormous budget (dwarfing ours) in an extremely privileged city, and a project to which the public barely have access”. It would be nice to think that access and interesting social use of a building may have an impact on award decision making. Maybe the public test will be this - they both have café’s. Which one will we end up in?

Olympian Speeds

Straight after the success of the Olympics and the latest news is that us Brits are going for the land-speed record - again. Currently at over 760mph Andy Green and the team are aiming for 1K mph, the Bloodhound rocket project aims to hit 1,000mph in about 45 seconds.

As well as being an outsanding feat it will also showcase design and engineering and hopefully, much like the olympics legacy, inspire the next generation. Sharing in a speed bid is another UK team trying for the electric car land speed record of over 137mph, with a possible top speed of about 200mph.

While meanwhile the current generation are capable of inspiring feats still - a group of diabetic pilots attempt a celebration flight after their successful campaign.

Inland See

There shouldn’t really be much boat-y business going on in Milton Keynes, one of the most inland places in England! But this summer a fabulous boat arrived inland - a boat built from donated pieces of wood; wood that's played a part in the lives of thousands of people. Arriving during the fabulous IF festival as part of a unique project for the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad, the Lone Boat project was a great experience and a true pleasure to marvel over – Seen up close and out of the water it was possible to enjoy the fabulous designs and incredible woodwork – Great idea, great work and well worth a visit.

Allez Wiggo!

Like buses, cycling success comes along in three’s – nothing for ages and then suddenly Bradley Wiggins (Wiggo) wins the Tour de France, Chris Froome from the Sky team gets second place on the podium, and Mark Cavendish (Cav) wins the final sprint on the Champs Elysees.

It was truly stunning and a wonderful three weeks of exciting cycling and sterling demonstration of team work. Maybe it will impact cycling in the UK, more will get out on their bikes and there will be improved cycling conditions. Meanwhile the Olympics are nearly here and Wiggo and Cav will be racing again, this time for Olympic gold.

Tour de Olympics

Wimbledon is on, it’s raining in England and so it must be nearly time for the Tour de France. In this Olympic year it’s looking particularly good for the British, with Team Sky having Mark Cavendish looking strong if not unbeatable in the sprints, and Bradley Wiggins competing for the overall leader. In fact some rate Bradley more highly than last year’s winner Cadel Evans. It’s always ominous when British competitors look good, we are normally so much better taking the underdog approach. But today athletes train so much harder and have so much assistance (from diet to coaching) that measure their performance, and help them peak when they should. So the fact that these two great athletes are recognised is just a reflection that they really are ready to race for these accolades.

And of course, keep a bit in store so that they can compete in the Olympics and win as well. But with one of their main competitors, Andy Schleck, out through a recent cycling accident, it is three weeks of tension and nerves. Once again ideal preparation for the Olympics happening in London in just over a month. Happy days.

A little running is a dangerous thing

Every so often there’s a debate about whether running, from jogging for the bus, to ultra-marathons onwards, are good or bad for your health. there is no doubt that running can be hazardous while in central park, new york there’s disputes about who should be using the dirt path undulating around the Central Park reservoir known as the “runners’ track”, which now even has one-way signs posted to keep order.

In no doubt though is that running shoes have improved. Back in the days when I moved from doing football training to running there was a choice of plimsolls, football trainers (adidias) or Dunlop green flash. Soon came along trendy, fashionable, garish and expensive hi-tecs, and a few more years after that the start of proper running shoes from Nike and everyone else. I’ve since run in great shoes from new balance, brooks, saucony and asics; all a great improvement on the old-fashioned sports shoes. So things do improve with age.

Earthquake proof table

The design museum have recently announced the overall winner for their designs of the year 2012, which turns out to be the Olympic torch. The annual event is always an interesting and stimulating opportunity to see what’s been included and what is happening. With seven categories there tends to be something for everyone – and of course it always raises a debate (why is that there!). The Olympic torch which you would think would be a no brainer has taken criticism, with daily telegraph readers voting it looked more like a cheese grater than a torch – but is that a bad thing?

There are lots of gems in there – I particularly liked the flying cycles bike parking, although I’m not sure if it goes around at the speed of the London eye or at a fast flowing windmill. It would be interesting to know. Is the bike hanger that practical - probably not – but it does make me smile. Something quite practical and a bit jaw dropping the first time you see it is the incredible Hovding invisible helmet. You simply have to watch the demo – not sure whether I was watching this to be impressed by the product or in endless fascination as a poor old cyclist keeps getting repeatedly mashed.

Wandering around exploring the nominations I was taken with the moses bridge in the architecture section as well as with the category winner the Olympic velodrome. I also liked the late night chameleon café or maybe I just liked the photography, its hard to tell. There is an earthquake proof table in there somewhere, although I'm not sure if it comes with terms & conditions - replace after use maybe? Fascinating stuff.

Level 2 Training

Having completed my L2 training in February, in harsh winter conditions where the air temperature went from -12 to -14 while I was driving there, and where day two meant chopping thru ice to get on the water,it was great to actually get back on the water recently and do some proper paddling.

Just got back from two days on the lovely river wye, paddling a canadian which was great experience in paddling a different craft for me, for a sustained period rather than my usual quick jaunt on the lake. The weather was great too, warm and bright and so the club spent an idyllic two days out on the water just paddling. And I got my first experience of white water in a canadian doing solo on the yat which was also great fun. The season is just about to start so now need to sort out my training plans to get thru my level two. Happy days!

Places for people

Some companies are synonymous with a location, so what happens when that company goes bust as happened with Kodak based in Rochester, NY. Often time the model is one of sustained decline, as the big car manufacturers have declined in Detroit, so has the city. Well a recent NYT article suggest that all is not lost in Rochester and reveals that certain criteria; things like policy making, entrepreneurship, a strong academic, cultural and public sector can all help drive growth and promote business activity.

While such change can be seismic, and distinctive - the next generation will not recognise Rochester as Kodak city anymore - Surely that is better than the alternative, that like the early pioneers, those who can just up and leave and find better ground. And while the change can impact hard, it can also impact well. Hidden away in beautiful countryside what was once the tired and dreary Xerox training/conference centre is now the transformed National Conference Centre, an investment in change which helped transform and sustain Leesburg, Virginia.

Of't South Pole

Some people just like to over commit themselves on new year’s resolutions. So it is that Helen Skelton, the Blue Peter children’s presenter is about to launch a 500 mile journey to the South Pole. It’s an extreme endeavour especially for someone who has chosen to cycle the route! Well at least cycle part of the way.

It would be easy to dismiss this as a Captain Scott type endeavour, but then this is the same person who completed a record-breaking 2,000 mile voyage by kayak down the length of the Amazon. Depending upon all sorts of things they hope get to the south pole within 3 weeks – though it could take a lot longer! Apparently they have been there a while acclimatising – my version of that would be sitting in front of a log fire for as long as possible! The CBBC website will let you keep track of their adventures. Remarkable.

Bigger is better!

The tallest building in the world has opened in Dubai. The Burj Khalifa, is a dizzying 828 metres high, it has all those essentials you need in a building like fast lifts and a swimming pool. You can even pay to go and have a look inside it, so that’s nice of them. Looking at it, it does seem a bit bare despite the architecture – I think they should have taken some ideas from urban ruraralism, which provide green spaces on the top or sides of buildings. But that’s only my view – and apparently there are over 6 billion other views out there!

The world population is apparently over 7 billion and the BBC has a nifty app that lets you review where you are on this scale. The graphics show a steady population of about 500 Million through from the middle ages until the 18th century and then escalating up to the 7 billion in 2011. Its like the old "how many people can you get inside a car", how many people can you get inside the tallest building in the world!