Cycling into a strong headwind

So I cycled to work today, ladies and gentlemen, in my lovely new cycling bib shorts, my US Postal Team cycling Jersey and my lovely clip in racing shoes feeling very much the true professional. However after about 0.5 mile I became very aware that the wind was very strongly blowing back in my face (this seemed to persist for more or less the whole journey) and, perhaps not suprisingly, this makes the task of cycling very much harder. Suffice to say I was knackered in no time and could not sustain a very good average speed. It was embarrassing to be wearing all of the flash gear and yet cycling at the speed of an old woman out for a gentle mooch on her push bike on a Sunday morning. Let's hope the journey home has a wonderful tail wind so that I can feel like Lance Armstrong instead. Here's hoping!!

The Great North Run is nearly here

You may recall my blog posting from back in June where I tried to encourage you, the good people of the Internet, to sponsor me for the Great North Run. Just to recap the link you need is http://www.runningsponsorme.org/davidjenkinson. Anyway in just over 3 weeks I'll be lining up on the starting line with 50,000 fellow runners but I need more sponsorship to reach my target. Please help. Any amount would be great. It's all for Cancer Research. An admirable charity if ever there was one.

Holidays in Devon

Well I've nearly been back at work for a week now since returning from a 2 week break in Devon with my family. We had a great time. I love Devon. It's very beautiful and I enjoy the rolling hills. Living in Cambridge (as I do!) the landscape is very flat and bland. Fen land as far as the eye can see. But Devon with its hills, rivers, coastal scenes and so forth is a joy. My kids absolutely loved the place and want us to move down there permanently. It's not going to happen. I can't see myself as a farmer, boatman, fisherman or the like and what else do you do for work in Devon? But the clean sea air and wonderful walks, runs, cycle rides are amazing. Hmmmm!! .......... What did we do? ....thanks for asking!! We did quite a bit of crabbing and caught loads of the little critters. We enjoyed Dartmouth castle, Greenway (the former home of Agatha Christie), beautiful villages like Dittisham and Stoke Gabriel, a lovely day at Coleton Fishacre, boat trips on the Dart, Lynton & Lynmouth Cliff Railway (powered by water) and so much more. Actually I think they were the main highlights but anyway I throughly enjoyed myself and came back very well rested and relaxed.

A New Blog Template

Decided to try out a new template for my blog. Was getting bored of the black theme. Not sure if this is better. Comments please?

20 is Plenty

So I got caught speeding. I was doing 37mph in a 30 zone. Why? Because I was reprimanding my son for mucking about with his new Bionicle set in the car after I'd told him not to, instead of watching my speed. Nearly 20 years of motoring and I've never had a speeding offence before. Arrgh!! Anyway as it was deemed to be a minor offence I was offered a DriveTech Safety Awareness Course instead of getting 3 points. The course cost 60 quid which was the same as the fine would have been. I decided it was preferable to take the 4 hour course and be told about driving safely and the dangers of excessive speed rather than taking the points and watching my insurance premiums increase. I've now done the course. I went straight from work on tuesday 5pm til 9pm. And what did I learn, you may be asking? Well I learnt that:
1) 20 is plenty - catchy huh?
2) Drive in 3rd gear when in 30 zones rather than 4th or higher. The car's desire to go over 30mph is hugely curtailed in this gear.
3) If you see street lamps and no other speed zone signs then it's 30mph.
4) If you don't see any street lamps or speed zone signs and you're not on a dual carriageway or motorway, it's 60mph.
5) A dual carriageway may only have 1 lane in each direction. It is defined by having a central reservation. Without one it is a single lane carriageway even if it has more than one lane in each direction.
6) If in doubt as to whether it's a dual or single lane carriageway consider the ball test. Could you roll a ball from kerb to kerb without hitting anything? If so it's a single. If not it's a double.
7) "Only a fool breaks the 2 second rule". Remember this people. Say it to yourself to ensure you keep a safe distance behind the car in front.
8) 40mph and 50mph zones didn't exist until relatively recently (can't remember the exact date but we were told). Anyway this means that no zone would be a 40 or a 50 unless there are clear speed signs as you enter these zones. If you happened to turn from a side road into a 40 or 50 zone you would spot the repeater signs along the route confirming the speed limit.
9) If at 30mph you slammed on the brakes and stopped just short of hitting an object then at 32mph you would hit that object at 11mph. At 35mph you would hit it at 18mph and at 40mph you would hit it at 26mph and probably if that was a person they would die. Makes you think doesn't it. Even small speed increases can make a massive difference.

So I have found myself sticking religiously to the speed limit since the course. In that sense it was very worthwhile. Will I sustain it? ... I honestly don't know. Does it sometimes feel embarrassing when you can tell from your mirrors that the car behind is hating you for being such a stickler for the speed limit? Yes it can do, but what's worse? feeling obliged to speed up and then potentially hitting and killing someone that would have lived if you'd been at or under the speed limit? You decide!!