Retro

It's a bit icier today so I keep to the flatter route through Sandiacre, so I don't have any tricky downhills to do. The problem with that route though is the mountainous speed bumps that offer no grip in the wet, let alone in the ice. These are obviously designed and installed without a single thought to cyclists because they usually end up forcing you to cycle in the middle of the road.

I text L to let her know I'm alive which just prompts a questioning email to elaborate in case that means I've fallen off, broken something but obviously lived to tell the tale.

In fact, it was a rather uneventful ride, not half as interesting as my virtual cycle along the A9 coast road. According to the map, as I close in on John O'Groats, I need to take a short ferry ride across from Cromarty to Nigg but it turns out that the ferry is closed for the winter. Well, I could swim across, I suppose. Luckily, I've done the odd triathlon, or I could back track to get the bridge over at Shoreton which means an extra 40km. L would insist I stay on the road I suppose, which means I now have 123km to go and not 83km.

My colleague at work turns up on a rather well looked after 1970’s Raleigh Record Special Edition, which could be a collector's item, might even be worth a few bob. I'll have to dust down my old Raleigh Arena and challenge him to a retro race. Retro is very in at the moment, they've even brought back pickled onion Monster Munch. Which were disgusting the first time around, but there you go.

After work, I cycle to the pool and I'm rather perturbed when the chap in front of me gets a Christmas card from the leisure centre. Favouritism or what.

As I head home, I get a text 'Out with bloody dogs. Dinner in the oven'. Ah, seems MD is being a pain again. Seven out of ten dogs receive Christmas presents from Santa but in our house, it might be 1 out of 2. I get home and jog up to meet them.

When I catch up with L and complain to her about the chap getting a card from the leisure centre, I find out that they've given L one too. Seems I'm Billy no mates yet again.

I've ordered a new modem, to try to cure our limping internet and immediately the computer perks up and seems fine. How does it know?