It was a bit on the wet side, when I set off for today’s cycle. So I had to make the most of it. I put on a wetsuit and went out on the bike! Hope you like the photos below! Looking forward to reading all your comments! HIT, HIT!!
More cycling photos taken with the new camera
Here are some more cycling photos taken with my new Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX200V Digital Bridge Camera that I got yesterday. Think I am getting to get use to it! Love that it’s got a GPS build in. So I will never forget where I have taken the photos. To see the location for yourself, just click on a photo below and you will see a nice map under the photo :).
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX200V Digital Bridge Camera
On Friday 26th July 2013, I ordered myself a new Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX200V Digital Bridge Camera from Jessops. It set me back £259.99. It turned up today. So far I am very pleased with it. Just getting use to all the settings on it.
Here are some of the first photos taken with it :).
UK TV programmes to watch this week : 27/07/2013
Inspire: The Olympic Journey (BBC1/HD | 12:45pm to 1:30pm | Saturday 27th July 2013)
Gabby Logan is in Glasgow to mark one year until the Commonwealth Games. She gets a guided tour of the city from Sir Chris Hoy, who also shows her around the velodrome named after him. A year on from the Olympic Games, Matthew Pinsent looks at the legacy of 2012, and fellow rowing star Katherine Grainger joins the team to reflect on life after London for some of the key personalities from summer 2012, including Victoria Pendleton, Helen Glover and Dai Greene. And in the first of a regular series of features introducing the potential stars for Rio in 2016, we meet 17-year-old Bath swimmer Siobhan-Marie O’Connor.
Countryfile (BBC1/HD | 8:00pm to 9:00pm | Sunday 28th July 2013)
Countryfile celebrates its silver jubilee by throwing a party in the form of a traditional country summer fayre. Adam’s farm in the Cotswolds is a frenzy of activity; there are stalls, food, entertainment and bunting as far as the eye can see. Along with 250 lucky Countryfile viewers, Matt Baker, Julia Bradbury, John Craven, Ellie Harrison, Adam Henson and Tom Heap are there to get the party started in good old-fashioned style. Matt finds out about the importance of country fayres to rural communities, while Julia discovers what life is really like on Adam’s farm when the cameras aren’t rolling. John puts Matt and Julia’s countryside knowledge to the test in a quiz, ably assisted by impressionist Jon Culshaw. He also reveals just how much money the Countryfile calendar has raised for Children in Need since it began – with a little help from Sir Terry Wogan.
Top Gear (BBC2/HD | 8:00pm to 9:00pm | Sunday 28th July 2013)
Motoring magazine. Jeremy Clarkson and James May investigate an increasingly popular type of tall hatchback often referred to as a ‘crossover’. Meanwhile, Richard Hammond is in Italy driving a pair of Lamborghinis, the sensational Aventador Roadster and a 570 horsepower riot of carbon fibre and space age styling called the Sesto Elemento. Plus, James May is at the test track to drive a modern recreation of the classic Porsche 911 and Aerosmith legend Steven Tyler is the rock star in the Reasonably Priced Car.
Undercover Boss (Channel 4/HD | 9:00pm to 10:00pm | Monday 29th July 2013)
Chief Executive Ian Wakelin goes undercover in waste and recycling company Biffa, a business that has been finding it increasingly difficult to turn muck into brass in these tough economic times. With debts in excess of a billion pounds when he joined, Ian’s been wholly focused on restoring the company’s flagging fortunes. Determined to maximise profits and pay back the company’s remaining debts, he heads to the frontline in search of ways to balance the books. After mucking in with his hard-pressed staff, and working in challenging conditions, Ian discovers that some feel they’ve been overlooked and dumped at the tip. But it’s not just hard physical graft, as tears and trauma come to the fore. It’s an experience that forces boss Ian to question whether the company’s people should be his main concern, not its numbers.
The Cycle Show (itv4 | 8:00pm to 9:00pm | Monday 29th July 2013)
The cycling magazine show with Jill Douglas including special guests and items and features on all aspects of bike riding. Guests in this edition include Hannah Barnes, Liz Dimmock, Helen and Steff Wyman and the Irish Belles.
The Last Leg (Channel 4/HD | 10:00pm to 10:50pm | Wednesday 31st July 2013)
Initially launched alongside the Paralympic Games, the award-winning gang show, now on its third series, returns live to Wednesday night. Host, Adam Hills and co-hosts Josh Widdicombe and Alex Brooker take a look at the weird and wonderful talking point stories of the week to enjoy and celebrate what makes this country so unique. Each week the guys are joined by a celebrity guest with a live studio audience. The show also sees the return of the all-encompassing question: Is It OK? Viewers at home and the studio audience are encouraged to ask this question about anything from the week, without fear of judgement. Once again, our three hosts will attempt to step into the minefield of sometimes difficult and delicate areas and answer the questions with their own unique insight.
Alex Brooker: My Perfect Body (Channel 4/HD | 10:50pm to 11:55pm | Wednesday 31st July 2013)
Alex Brooker, the Channel 4 Paralympics and Last Leg presenter, explores the world of male body image, shedding light on how men really feel about their figures. He also hopes to win his own war with weight, lose two stone and get a six-pack in just two months. In February the NHS and Social Care Information Centre revealed that 65% of British men are overweight. Self-confessed ‘perennial porker’ Alex thinks he might be one of them. To kick start his new svelte self, he follows in the footsteps of Beyonc?, and does a week of the cayenne pepper diet, losing 10lbs in seven days. But how far are men willing to go, and where do they get their perception of perfection from? Alex discovers how the pornification of society has influenced the way men look, but does it all come down to vanity? Alex’s mum provides some touching insights into Alex’s history of weight issues, while Alex’s girlfriend Lynsey says she loves him for who he is, not what he looks like.
The Hotel Inspector Returns: The Who’d a Thought it, Grafty Green, Kent (Channel 5 | 9:00pm to 10:00pm | Thursday 1st August 2013)
Documentary series. Alex Polizzi returns to the Who’d a Thought It, which on her first visit resembled the Kent countryside’s answer to the Playboy mansion. Self-styled showman Joe Mallet had aimed to bring a taste of four-star city luxury to rural Kent, but his unique taste in decor, featuring cowhide bedspreads, four-man hot tubs and erotic artwork, had not proved to be to everyone’s liking. Alex made a number of improvements, but what will she find on her return visit?
Hebrides: Islands on the Edge (BBC2/HD | 9:00pm to 10:00pm | Thursday 1st August 2013)
Ewan McGregor narrates a landmark nature series focusing on the wildlife struggling to survive on the Hebridean Islands. In the final programme, a look at how the residents of the Hebrides learned to live side-by-side with their wild neighbours. Skye Ferryman Donnie MacDonald reveals that business can prosper when passengers can be treated to some on board entertainment in the form of white-tailed eagles hunting alongside the boat. Plus, how Andrew Abrahams is attempting to turn the Island of Colonsay into a nature reserve for bees, how the peatlands of Lewis and Innes Henderson inspire artist Alice Starmore, and the Coll fisherman who regularly has to steer his boat through a 100-strong group of basking sharks.
All TV guide information taken from DigiGuide — www.getdigiguide.tv/?p=1&r=15119.
Nick in my neoprene sleepsack
I had a good mate over for a number of days and he said he wanted to try out my neoprene sleepsack. Like I was going to say no!!
More photos from this set can be found at www.gordon-valentine.com/zenphoto/days-out/22-07-2013_23-07-2013/.
UK TV programmes to watch this week : 20/07/2013
Top Gear (BBC2/HD | 8pm to 9pm | Sunday 21st July 2013)
Motoring magazine. Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May bring relief to flood-stricken areas of Britain by building a car that can turn into a hovercraft. After a bumpy start, the presenters demonstrate the brilliance of their creation with an eventful journey down the River Avon. Also in this show, Jeremy is on the track in the insane Mercedes SLS Black and the 739 horsepower SLS Electric, while Hollywood star Hugh Jackman is the star in the Reasonably Priced Car.
The Cycle Show (itv4 | 8pm to 9pm | Monday 22nd July 2013)
The cycling magazine show with regular presenter Graham Little including special guests and items and features on all aspects of bike riding.
Undercover Boss (Channel 4/HD | 9pm to 10pm | Monday 22nd July 2013)
Cuts of nearly 100 million pounds have forced Eleanor Kelly, the Chief Executive of central London’s Southwark Council, to think outside the box, so she’s going undercover in her own organisation. With 300,000 residents demanding round-the-clock services and pressure mounting as a result of an inquest into a tragic fire, the undercover CEO needs to discover if slashed budgets mean Southwark is failing its residents. But after years at the top, she’s shocked at what she finds: loyal council staff burdened by redundancies and cuts struggling with angry residents; hoarding tenants creating fire risks, while the public ignore the council’s efforts. So Eleanor is forced to consider if the council has been concentrating too hard on cuts and not enough on under-appreciated staff.
The Route Masters: Running London’s Roads: The Future (BBC2/HD | 9pm to 10pm | Tuesday 23rd July 2013)
A million more people than anticipated have settled in London in the last decade and Transport for London predicts that there will be a further two million by 2030. Michele Dix, TfL’s head of planning, sets about trying to get people out of cars and on to bikes and buses. A police Cycle Task Force has been set up to encourage cycling, but it also cracks down on cyclists jumping red lights at Elephant and Castle. Bernie drives the 343 bus route in South London, where passengers battle every day to board the city’s most overcrowded bus. To try to keep the roads moving, CCTV cameras crack down on rulebreakers, with Graham watching out for cars sitting in yellow box junctions for too long and fining them. Meanwhile, Chas from the Roads Policing Unit stakes out a notorious traffic jam which rogue motorists are trying to escape by going off-road, taking a shortcut across a grass verge. There is also a look at the secret supercomputer that controls many of the city’s traffic lights.
Hebrides: Islands on the Edge (BBC2/HD | 9pm to 10pm | Thursday 25th July 2013)
Ewan McGregor narrates a landmark nature series focusing on the wildlife struggling to survive on the Hebridean Islands. This edition focuses on the spectacular wildlife of the exposed Outer Hebrides. On the outlying islands, seabirds rush to feed their chicks while avoiding the murderous intentions of predatory skuas with a taste for young puffins. And on the low-lying Uists, acres of meadows burst into flower as summer finally arrives. But the year’s drought conditions find Atlantic salmon trapped in the sea pools and unable to move into the river systems.
The Hotel Inspector Returns: First in Last Out, Winchester (Channel 5 | 9pm to 10pm | Thursday 25th July 2013)
Documentary series in which Alex Polizzi returns to the scene of some of her biggest challenges. When Alex last visited the First in Last Out in Winchester, she found a struggling bed-and-breakfast of questionable cleanliness and cripplingly bad reviews. She was so appalled by the dodgy decor and a dirt-encrusted shower cubicle that she refused to stay the night. Three years on, will owner Jon Sweeney be able to supply a warmer welcome?
All TV guide information taken from DigiGuide — www.getdigiguide.tv/?p=1&r=15119.
BBC launching five new HD channels
Here is some great news, if like myself you love free HD channels. From 2014, BBC Three, BBC Four, CBBC, CBeebies and BBC News will all be distributed in HD on Freesat, Freeview and YouView. It will also be made available to other platform operators, including cable companies.
Meaning by the time you add BBC1 and BBC 2 HD. The BBC will have a total of 7 HD channels! Leaving only BBC Parliament in SD.
Out of all these new HD channels, I am looking forward to BBC News HD the most. Since other than BBC1 and BBC2 HD, it’s the BBC channel, I watch the most.
For more information about this check out — www.a516digital.com/2013/07/bbc-launching-five-new-hd-channels.html.
Middle of July 2013 most popular photos
Below are the top three most looked at photos on this website so far during July 2013.
Number 1 (210 views) : Wetsuit cycling
Number 2 (177 views) : Wetsuit cycling
Number 3 (141 views) : Pearl Izumi Team Garmin-Chipotle team kit
UK TV programmes to watch this week : 13/07/2013
Countryfile (BBC1/HD | 8pm to 9pm | Sunday 14th July 2013)
Ellie Harrison and Adam Henson head for the Shetlands, the most northerly inhabited place in the UK. Ellie meets the islanders farming seaweed to eat, tries her hand at an ancient Viking version of chess and goes in search of one of the UK’s rarest birds – the red necked phalarope. Adam gets up close to rare native Shetland cattle and sheep, then takes a twirl with a dancing pony. And Tom Heap reports on how a new approach to animal inspections is helping improve welfare on farms.
Top Gear (BBC2/HD | 8pm to 9pm | Sunday 14th July 2013)
Motoring magazine. Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May visit Spain, with Clarkson in a McLaren 12C Spider, Hammond driving a Ferrari 458 Spider and May using an Audi R8 V10 Spyder. Over the course of their travels the three presenters and their mid-range convertible supercars encounter mountain passes, ghost towns and an incredible abandoned airport, before building their own street circuit in the deserted developments of Madrid. Also in this show, Sherlock and Star Trek actor Benedict Cumberbatch is the star in the Reasonably Priced Car.
The Cycle Show (itv4 | 8pm to 9pm | Monday 15th July 2013)
The cycling magazine show with regular presenter Graham Little including special guests and items and features on all aspects of bike riding.
Undercover Boss (Channel4/HD | 9pm to 10pm | Monday 15th July 2013)
Company director Ray Pope steps out from his cosy office and into very unfamiliar territory by going undercover on the shopfloor of multi million pound car giant Hyundai. Having tripled car sales in only four years, the boss is worried that the business might be creaking under the strain. After years behind a desk, he’s finally getting his hands dirty, but unearths sales staff struggling to perform, mechanics so demoralised that they’re leaving the company, and valets frustrated at unachievable targets. And when the boss heads to the company’s largest operation, Tilbury docks, where they import 2,500 cars a week, he’s shocked to discover dozens of cars are going missing.
The Route Masters: Running London’s Roads: Gateway to London. Episode 5 (BBC2/HD | 9pm to 10pm | Tuesday 16th July 2013)
In the last decade, Victoria Coach Station has been transformed. London’s only coach station has in effect become a new border, for thousands of migrants coming to Britain from Eastern Europe and elsewhere. Cheap coach fares have resulted in a 25 per cent increase in passengers in the last five years alone. So the Transport for London staff running the coach station must now work flat-out to cope with the demand. Customer service assistant Hayley, a former bodyguard and stuntwoman, has worked out her own special technique for charming the coach drivers. Jack speaks Polish, which helps when he has to deal with hundreds of Poles departing and arriving every day. And Sergeant Shaun Doyle is on patrol, coping with everything from a missing teenager who turns up at the coach station to illegal immigrants and stowaways. This is the story of how one of the oldest parts of London’s transport infrastructure has become the busiest, thanks to the way London has changed.
Hebrides: Islands on the Edge (BBC2/HD | 9pm to 10pm | Thursday 18th July 2013)
Ewan McGregor narrates a landmark nature series focusing on the wildlife struggling to survive on the Hebridean Islands. Cameras follow white-tailed eagles, harbour seals, hares, pine martens and short-eared owls as they struggle to raise their families whilst dealing with the biggest storm ever to hit the islands in living memory. And as the wild weather passes, the seas warm to welcome the arrival of Scotland’s ocean juggernauts, basking sharks.
The One Show (BBC1/HD | 7pm to 7:30pm | Friday 19th July 2013)
Larry Lamb and Lucy Siegle visit the seaside town of Oban to present a selection of some of the best reports from the One Show. Highlights include Mike Dilger’s search for killer whales off the coast of Scotland, a feature on the humble origins of the James Bond theme and the engineering secrets behind a new bridge over Nottingham’s railway station.
All TV guide information taken from DigiGuide — www.getdigiguide.tv/?p=1&r=15119.
10-Jul-2013 | Pearl Izumi Team Garmin-Chipotle team kit
Here are some photos of myself wearing the Pearl Izumi Team Garmin-Chipotle team kit.
