previous latest addition here

warning: this page is unbelievably boring unless you run and / or ride a mountain bike (even then, it's a matter of taste :-)

the best bits about running are injuries and trainers - check out any running newsgroup on the net if you don't believe me.

at the moment i'm using adidas ozweego (which have widened over the years - used to be they didn't fit) - i managed to track some down in white with dark blue / fluorescent lime trim. they look quite neat - they look like you should be running in them, if you see what i mean... before that i had asics 2020 and 2010s - the 2010s were great, but the 2020s weren't as well made.

as for injuries: i visited a physiotherapist last month for the first time ever with an aching tendon under my left foot (a recurring injury). it turns out that my left forefoot is solid (this is not good: try grabbing either side of your foot, just behind the toes, and twisting - my right foot is flexible, my left is like a block of wood). anyway, the cure is, apparently, for the physio to hurt me. it certainly worked - the foot is much better, but still pretty solid. at some point i have to make another appointment...

when not running (or eating, sleeping, sitting around, standing still etc) i'm cycling. as we don't have a car, and live 40 mins walk from the town centre, we use bikes to get around. leicester is pretty good about bikes - lots of cycleways - but let's get to the interesting details: injuries and bike.

no injuries, yet. the bike is a giant boulder - a rather heavy, but solid steel thing with basic shimano equipment (sun tour front chainset) (it cost just under 200 pounds which seems to be the current level for a "decent but not fancy" bike here). the top tube is very short, which is a bit of a nuisance (it needs bar ends to be comfortable on long rides, and you have to practise not banging the handlebar with your knees when out of the saddle on climbs), but otherwise i'm pretty impressed. everything works and has continued to keep working.

apart from adding mudguards, panniers, bar ends and removing quick-release gizmos the only thing i've changed is the width of the handle bars - cutting an inch of each end has made them more comfortable in town (any more and i think it would be difficult to control on a rough track).

when it comes to bikes i'm an equipment obsessive, but not a junkie. the distinction may be clear from the description above - i'll spend hours cutting the handlebars down step by step until they feel right, but i'm happy with a steel frame, no suspension, and basic shifters. i'll rebuild a wheel for fun, but you'll never seem me with anodized rims...

apart from traditional yorkshire "canniness" i honestly don't believe that spending money to lighten a bike makes a significant difference for most people. if you're faster than me, you're very likely faster than me if we swap bikes (assuming we're not comparing road and mountain bikes) - it's the legs that matter (the bike - any bike - weighs a lot less than the rider). and if i'm faster than you, i know it's me, and not my wallet, that's the difference.

as for suspension. full suspension is for kids, jerks, and people with too much money (excepting a few people who spend a huge amount of time on bikes and race downhill, i guess). in chile, riding on dry, rocky, dirt tracks, i needed front suspension before i could cycle at the speed i wanted without my hands hurting. but here, in the uk, even the rocky bits are so muddy i haven't regretted solid forks (and i no longer pogo when climbing hills).

talking of mud - i'm impressed with the tyres on the boulder. i've no experience of anything else, but the ability for the front wheel to go up the side of a boggy rut has to be experienced. and the mudguards - cheap zefals - work well. i've packed the front bracket with a couple of washers to bring the curve down wround the wheel, but it still catches my toe clips - fortunately it's rare for the wheel to turn that much and if there is a conflict, the mudguard just bends out of the way. i fastened the back guard (with a bolt and small bracket) to the rear panier rack. at first i was worried that the small clearance at the back would cause problems (something jamming and locking the wheel), but so far everything has been ok (in bad conditions a lot of mud is collected at the rear brakes, but it doesn't affect anything).

if all this talk of mud gives the impression that shopping in leicester is rather rustic, i better add that there's a good ride to the east (to oakham / rutland water) that involves a lot of hills and can include a variety of bridleways.

(i'll try and get a piccy here soon!)