That’s me just done the first cycle of 2016! I only did 20.7 miles. Not the longest cycle in the end, but it’s a good start!
I will now leave you with the route map and route statistics.
Route map:-
Route statistics:-
Data from: Garmin Connect.
On Friday 8th January 2016, I ordered myself a new Sony Cyber-shot DSC HX40V Digital Camera from Jessops. It set me back £287. It turned up today. So far I am very pleased with it. Love the fact, I can control it using my mobile phone.
It’s also got a lot better zoom than my last camera. This one has a 50x optical zoom lens, when my last camera (Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX200V Digital Bridge Camera) only had a 30X optical zoom lens.
Here is a photo of myself wearing my RST Pro Series 1 Piece Leather Suit, taken with my new camera, controlled from my mobile phone
My Mediterranean with Adrian Chiles (BBC 2/HD | 9:00pm to 10:00pm | Sunday 10th January 2016)
Adrian Chiles tours the colourful religious festivals of the Mediterranean to find out whether his choice of church was an accident of birth and geography. This episode finds Adrian in Rome, riding a Vespa with Father Gianni on the pillion. The pair speculate on whether having a priest accompanying him to the pearly gates improves or damages Adrian’s chances of entry to heaven. Adrian then joins the faithful in St Peter’s Square to listen to the man he describes as ‘chairman and chief executive’ of his own religion. Later, an 80-year-old cardinal tries to remain unflustered as Adrian makes his first confession in eight years. He observes the Sabbath with a Jewish family, but his brief flirtation with Judaism is cut short when he learns that becoming a Jew is not easy. He cooks with the nuns of Marseille, and visits a Roman Catholic school where 80% of the children are Muslims and where he declares the head teacher to be ‘the most inspiring person I have ever met’.
Great British Railway Journeys (BBC 2/HD | 6:30pm to 7:00pm | Monday 11th January 2016)
Michael Portillo embarks on a railway journey along the south coast of Britain. Beginning in the port of Dover, he is inspired by a brave Victorian sea captain to plunge into the English Channel. A spectacular miniature steam railway, one third the size of his customary mode of transport, conveys him from Romney Marsh to Dungeness. In elegant Eastbourne, he discovers how the refined Victorian upper crust was attracted to the town by design of the 7th Duke of Devonshire. He ends his journey in truly eccentric English style at the Glyndebourne opera festival on the South Downs.
Silent Witness (BBC 1/HD | 9:00pm to 10:00pm | Monday 11th January 2016)
The murder of a well-known anti-fundamentalist Muslim, Amir Aziz, leads the Lyell team to question who would kill this peaceful but outspoken man. Suspicion quickly falls on a local taxi driver, revealed as a member of the English Defence League whose son was killed by a Taliban IED. The team are joined in the investigation by DI Nina Ryman. Ryman knew Aziz and believed him to be a good man, but her faith in him is called into question when it is discovered that Aziz was in correspondence with a wanted drug smuggler before his death.
Great British Railway Journeys (BBC 2/HD | 6:30pm to 7:00pm | Tuesday 12th January 2016)
Following his Bradshaw’s handbook, Michael Portillo examines the nation’s hidden defences against potential invaders, beginning in the port of Newhaven. Detouring north to Balcombe, he interrupts his journey to appreciate two magnificent engineering achievements – the Ouse Valley Viaduct and the Clayton Tunnel – and learns of a gruesome murder. High on top of a favourite Victorian beauty spot, Michael learns how trains once brought hordes of day trippers here to walk and fly kites. Michael ends this leg of his journey in Worthing, where he finds a novel way to pick tomatoes.
Tricks of the Restaurant Trade (Channel 4/HD | 8:00pm to 8:30pm | Tuesday 12th January 2016)
There are more than a quarter of a million places to eat out in the UK. Most families eat out a couple of times a week, so how can they ensure that they receive good food, a fair price and a great experience? Kate Quilton, chef Simon Rimmer and reporter Adam Pearson investigate how customers can get the best quality food and service, and reveal some of the techniques that restaurants use to make you spend more. In this episode, the team put British pizzas to the test. How do two very non-traditional pizzas from takeaway chain Papa John’s compare with an authentic Italian pizza and which will the diners at an Italian restaurant prefer? Can you really improve the traditional Italian classic with curried chicken, spices, fruit and countless other ingredients?
Silent Witness (BBC 1/HD | 9:00pm to 10:00pm | Tuesday 12th January 2016)
Thomas must put his personal feelings aside as the team track down Begovic before she and her extremist compatriots strike out again. It soon becomes clear that Begovic isn’t working alone and may not have been the one who shot Ryman. In fact, her accomplice may be a man previously assumed dead.
Great British Railway Journeys (BBC 2/HD | 6:30pm to 7:00pm | Wednesday 13th January 2016)
Michael Portillo arrives in Littlehampton, where he discovers how Victorian engineers dug deep to defend the town’s residents from cholera and learns how their drills still access clean water around the world. At Gosport, he experiences first-hand the lethal firepower unleashed on the French and learns how the Victorians were engaged in a furious arms race against them. At the family home of Florence Nightingale in the New Forest, Michael finds out what motivated the Lady of the Lamp, before seizing the chance to drive the first motor car at Beaulieu.
Great British Railway Journeys (BBC 2/HD | 6:30pm to 7:00pm | Thursday 14th January 2016)
Armed with his Bradshaw’s Handbook, Michael Portillo arrives in the sailing haven of Lymington where he makes a lifesaving discovery. Exploring Dorchester’s literary landscape, he finds out how the coming of the railways inspired the work of the region’s greatest writer – Thomas Hardy. Weaving his way to Axminster, Michael tries his hand at carpet making. His last stop is Exmouth, home to Francis Danby, a forgotten Victorian landscape artist.
Death in Paradise (BBC 1/HD | 9:00pm to 10:00pm | Thursday 14th January 2016)
The team enter the shady world of island politics when the outgoing governor of Saint Marie is poisoned at her leaving party. Meanwhile, DI Goodman dives into the even murkier world of online dating.
The Restoration Man (Channel 4/HD | 9:00pm to 10:00pm | Thursday 14th January 2016)
When Lee Head spotted a Victorian railway station for sale in Northumberland, he saw the opportunity of a lifetime. He drew up a master plan for the rest of the site to pay for converting the main station into a family home; and saving money by doing all the building work alone at weekends. The sheer scale of the challenge has not been helped by planning restrictions. George Clarke gives Lee a hand when he can, and investigates the story behind why such a fine rural railway station never had a chance to achieve its promise.
Great British Railway Journeys (BBC 2/HD | 6:30pm to 7:00pm | Friday 15th January 2016)
In Plymouth, Michael finds out about the Royal Navy’s fighting spirit and mixes his own blend of ruin. Crossing into Cornwall, Michael learns about the last bridge to be built by one of his heroes, the engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel. By Tre, Pol and Pen, he comes to know Cornishmen and how to prepare the perfect pasty. His journey ends in a small village which in Victorian times became a hub of global communications.
Shetland (BBC 1/HD | 9:00pm to 10:00pm | Friday 15th January 2016)
When a young man disappears on the Aberdeen to Shetland ferry crossing and a small boy ends up in intensive care, DI Jimmy Perez and his team investigate and become convinced the two events are connected.
All TV guide information taken from DigiGuide — www.getdigiguide.tv/?p=1&r=15119.
Below are the main website statistics for December 2015.
Data from AWStats.
Below are the top three most looked at photos on this website during December 2015.
Number 1 (3,457 views) : Team GB Lycra skinsuit
Number 2 (1,421 views) : Amazing Spiderman 2 Morphsuit
Number 3 (1,006 views) : PBK Team Long Sleeve Skinsuit 2009
I had a great day in Stirling with Neil! We both went to Stirling Castle. Got no idea, when I last went! Have a feeling it was over 10 years ago! We also went to Argyll’s Lodging, again in Stirling.
I am now really starting to get the use out of my Historic Scotland membership! 🙂
Why? When I am cycling or walking, do I never see anyone out running wearing hot gear like this?
Today Neil and myself did another walk from the “Loch Lomond, the Trossachs & Stirling” book in the Pathfinder series. This time we did one called “The Whangie”
This walk was much short at only 3 miles. But it did give us great views over looking Glasgow and Loch Lomond.
Great British Railway Journeys (BBC 2/HD | 6:30pm to 7:00pm | Monday 4th January 2016)
Michael Portillo embarks on a journey around north west Britain. Joining the cracker packers of Carlisle on the factory floor, Michael Portillo really takes the biscuit as he investigates the Victorian appetite for the custard cream on his new journey. Braving a perilous descent into the only operational slate mine in England, Michael discovers a miniature railway which once hauled slate to the surface. Following in the footsteps of Victorian miners on their way to work, he steps out gingerly on to what is now Britain’s only Via Ferrata – a terrifying tightrope challenge 300 feet above the Borrowdale Valley.
The Fight of Gordon’s Life (BBC 1 Scotland & BBC iPlayer only | 8:30pm to 9:00pm | Monday 4th January 2016)
Documentary following one young man’s battle with a terminal condition. Diagnosed with motor neurone disease at 29, Gordon Aikman decided to raise money to help fund a cure and campaigned for better treatment. He won major improvements in patient care even as he gradually lost control of his body. And in a year of physical and emotional struggle, he also brought family and friends together to celebrate his marriage.
Silent Witness (BBC 1/HD | 9:00pm to 10:00pm | Monday 4th January 2016)
The apparent suicide of a DJ leads Nikki to question her judgement on a strikingly similar case from her past. But when she brings the potential mistake to the attention of her colleagues, the news threatens to have repercussions for the family of the deceased, the police and the Lyell. Meanwhile, Nikki catches up with an old friend from medical school, Scott, but the timing of his reappearance in her life seems suspicious in light of the recent events.
Great British Railway Journeys (BBC 2/HD | 6:30pm to 7:00pm | Tuesday 5th January 2016)
Michael Portillo embarks on a journey around north west Britain. Michael continues his journey through the Lake District where he discovers a magical world of talking rabbits, ducks, hedgehogs and mice, who have entertained children for more than 100 years. At the village home of author and illustrator Beatrix Potter, Michael learns about her legacy and her fears about the railways. Fuelled by a Victorian energy bar, Michael presses on to Brantwood, home of the Victorian art critic John Ruskin. He finishes with a brief encounter at Carnforth.
Silent Witness (BBC 1/HD | 9:00pm to 10:00pm | Tuesday 5th January 2016)
Nikki is arrested after a senior pathologist that she previously came to blows with is murdered. Whilst the team fight to clear her name, Nikki suspects someone is attempting to frame her. Meanwhile Tony, recently released from prison for attempted murder, learns of the pathologist’s death. Recognising the name from his own trial years ago, Tony begins to fear that his son David is involved in hurting the people involved in his father’s incarceration. As Nikki is released from custody, she has her own doubts and can’t help but suspect her old flame Scott, whose return to her life is so well timed with recent events.
Great British Railway Journeys (BBC 2/HD | 6:30pm to 7:00pm | Wednesday 6th January 2016)
Michael Portillo embarks on a journey around north west Britain. Michael reads the riot act in Preston, where he discovers four mill workers were shot dead by soldiers at a protest in 1842. In Darwen, he makes a splash in pink as he traces developments in 19th-century interior design from wallpaper to paint. Michael explores the Victorian industrial landscape of Salford, populated by little matchstick figures, as revealed in the paintings of LS Lowry. Michael finishes this leg of his journey on Kersal Moor, where he twists his tongue around the Lancashire dialect and discovers the poetry of Edwin Waugh.
Great British Railway Journeys (BBC 2/HD | 6:30pm to 7:00pm | Thursday 7th January 2016)
Michael Portillo embarks on a journey around north west Britain. Steered by his Bradshaw’s guide, Michael begins this leg of his journey in Merseyside, where he feels the heat of modern glassmaking in St Helen’s. He discovers how the techniques invented in the Victorian era to construct buildings such as the Crystal Palace have evolved and are powering a new architectural revolution.
Death in Paradise (BBC 1/HD | 9:00pm to 10:00pm | Thursday 7th January 2016)
DI Goodman and his team are tested when a millionaire philanthropist is murdered on his boat, and the only suspects were all underwater at the time. Meanwhile, DI Goodman’s new hobby raises a few eyebrows…
The Restoration Man (Channel 4/HD | 9:00pm to 10:00pm | Thursday 7th January 2016)
A new series of the show where George Clarke helps rescue neglected architectural treasures across Britain. When an Edwardian Baptist church comes up for sale in the small Pennine village of Oxenhope, Colin and Emma Clewes seize on their chance to turn it into a five-bedroom family home. With only a meagre budget, Colin intends to do most of the building work himself – while the couple juggle looking after their young family and running their own business. But restoring a church that has been in decline for years demands every ounce of their hard graft and grit. George offers inspiration and guidance to pull them through, and discovers that the church’s history is woven into the fabric of this small mill-working community.
(Editor’s Choice, High Definition, Subtitles, Part 1 of 5, Audio Described, Episode 1, 3 Star)
Great British Railway Journeys (BBC 2/HD | 6:30pm to 7:00pm | Friday 8th January 2016)
Michael Portillo embarks on a journey around north west Britain. On the last leg of his journey through north west England, Michael makes a clean sweep in Ashley, where, in Victorian times, the new middle classes set up home in suburban villas with multiple chimneys, swept by children. In Macclesfield, Michael finds the end of the Silk Route and tries his hand at screen printing. After stoking the fire on the steam-powered Churnet Valley Railway, Michael alights at Froghall for Alton Towers, to trace the 19th-century origins of the modern theme park.
All TV guide information taken from DigiGuide — www.getdigiguide.tv/?p=1&r=15119.
