Author: gsvalentine

About gsvalentine

I am a 44-year-old guy, who lives in Melton Mowbray, in the East Midlands, England. I was born in Lancashire, England, during September 1979. Most people don’t believe me that I was born in England due to my strong Scottish accent. My star sign is Libra. I am 5’9” tall, 30″ waist, with blonde hair, which is sometimes short, sometimes long. I have light brown eyes. Which most people think are very sexy. I just don’t see it, myself.

August 2014 cycling statistics

Here are my cycling statistics for August 2014. I ended up doing just 470.76 miles. So 198.3 less miles, than I did in August of last year. Then I was in Scotland between the 3rd to the 8th August 2014. Then when I got back, just could not get myself in the mood for doing that much cycling!

Here is the data from August 2014:-

  • Total cycles: 17.
  • Total Distance: 470.76 miles.
  • Total Time: 43:19:48 (h:m:s).
  • Avg Speed: 12.5 mph.
  • Max Time: 3:34:26 (h:m:s).
  • Max Speed: 32.4 mph.
  • Avg Distance: 27.69 miles.
  • Max Distance: 60.48 miles.

Data from: Garmin Connect.

Here are my favourite cycling photos from the month

USPS team cycling gearUSPS team cycling gearCannondale Pro Cycling Team 2014Cannondale Pro Cycling Team 2014dsc06174

UK TV programmes to watch this week : 06/09/2014

Our Zoo | 10-09-2014 (YouView app)Doctor Who (BBC 1/HD | 7:30pm to 8:20pm | Saturday 6th September 2014)

Sci-fi drama. In a sun-dappled Sherwood Forest, the Doctor discovers an evil plan from beyond the stars and strikes up an unlikely alliance with Robin Hood. With all of Nottingham at stake, the Doctor must decide who is real and who is fake. Can impossible heroes actually exist?

Alex Polizzi: The Fixer (BBC 2/HD | 9:00pm to 10:00pm | Monday 8th September 2014)

Alex Polizzi, champion of small businesses, finds fixes for the critical issues that kill so many companies. In this episode, Alex looks at trading with the big boys as she meets the Keebles, a family of farmers turned sausage producers whose survival relies heavily on the supermarkets that sell their goods. Like many small producers, however, they often feel powerless in that relationship. Privileged access to Morrisons’ food-development kitchens reveals some interesting results, and Alex uncovers some secrets behind the layout of Tesco shelves. Can Alex get a small company like Heck to survive on the shelves of the supermarket and realise their dream of being the UK’s number one premium brand?

The Motorway: Life in the Fast Lane (BBC 2/HD | 9:00pm to 10:00pm | Tuesday 9th September 2014)

Documentary series following the workers who keep the traffic flowing on one of the busiest stretches of road in Britain, where the country’s longest motorway, the M6, meets four other major routes. An army of workers oversee and make repairs to the M6, the UK’s major arterial motorway. With the need to keep the heavy traffic flowing at all times competing with the constant need for maintenance, it is a battle to stop it all grinding to a halt. Roadworks are often scheduled during the night when the motorway is at its quietest, to the ire of local residents Jim and Alan who live just 20 metres from a stretch of road where repairs are taking place. Meanwhile, safety inspectors working the graveyard shift go on the lookout for heavy-freight truckers breaking the rules.

Our Zoo (BBC 1/HD | 9:00pm to 10:00pm | Wednesday 10th September 2014)

Drama series based on the true story of the Mottershead family who, in the face of staunch opposition and huge personal sacrifice, founded Chester Zoo in the 1930s. Against the family’s wishes George and Billy attempt to coax two malnourished bears out of a cave in Matlock, abandoning Lizzie to organise the building of the zoo. But with the zoo expanding beyond their control and Lucy proving obstinate, Lizzie takes matters into her own hands. In Upton, Reverend Webb conspires to find out what George is up to.

Grand Designs (Channel 4/HD | 9:00pm to 10:00pm | Wednesday 10th September 2014)

Product designer Rebecca Sturrock has returned to her family home in Cornwall, with her partner Gregory Kewish and a highly ambitious plan. Together they will transform a small, damp, single-storey bungalow into a cutting edge home to share with their twin three-year-old daughters – all for just £80,000. The design is radical, to reinforce the walls of the old bungalow and put an entirely new living space on top to take advantage of the views. The extra floor will be built entirely of super thick wooden panels engineered in Germany. The two-ton panels are normally assembled by a crew of specialist installers, but remarkably, due to their miniscule budget, Rebecca and Gregory are determined to do it all themselves. With rain and wind hammering the site however, it soon becomes dangerously clear that Gregory and Rebecca have bitten off more than they can chew.

Big School (BBC 1/HD | 9:30pm to 10:00pm | Friday 12th September 2014)

Comedy series set in a secondary school. Mr Gunn views the impending parents’ evening at Greybridge in a whole new light when he discovers that one of his pupils may well be his son. Desperate to be the father the boy never had (apart from his current father), Gunn sets about trying to make his boy’s school days as joyous as possible, while Mr Church and Mr Martin battle to make sure Gunn’s hot gossip is spread far and wide. A meeting with their pupils’ parents also presents challenges for the rest of the Greybridge staff: Miss Postern is struggling to stop everyone eyeing her cleavage, Ms Baron is attempting to dodge the event altogether, Mr Barber is desperate to master his errant leaf blower and everyone is trying to avoid missing the final of The Great British Bake Off.

All TV guide information taken from DigiGuide — www.getdigiguide.tv/?p=1&r=15119.

Website statistics for August 2014

Below are the main website statistics for August 2014.

  • Unique visitors: 7,887.
  • Bandwidth: 9,211 GB.
  • Browsers: IE (8.4%), Firefox (33.4%), Chrome (22.2%), Safari (16.6%), Opera (3.1%).
  • Operating Systems: Windows (63.4%), Macintosh (24%), Others (3%), Linux 9.4%).
  • Most viewed blog entry: Daniel Radcliffe wearing Lycra Spider-man suit! (285 views | Posted: 20/08/2014).
  • Most viewed photo: Team GB Lycra skinsuit (1,135 views | Taken 19/05/2014).

Data from AWStats.

Cycle to Work Day : Peterborough Greyhound Stadium

Doing my part for the Cycle to Work Day (4th of September 2014). Since Thursday is my day off. Did it the day before!

This video shows me cycling from Little Bytham to Peterborough Greyhound Stadium (my place of work). A distance of 22.47 miles.

At the start of the video you get to see me wearing Lycra! So please all watch the video! Plus comment!! 🙂

Route statistics:-

  • Start time: 4:06 pm.
  • Distance: 22.47 miles.
  • Time: 1:34:50 (h:m:s).
  • Elapsed Time: 1:35:15 (h:m:s).
  • Avg Speed: 14.2 mph.
  • Max Speed: 30.8 mph.
  • Elevation Gain: 102 meters.
  • Min Elevation: 4 meters.
  • Max Elevation: 54 meters.

Data from: Garmin Connect.

August 2014 most popular photos

Below are the top three most looked at photos on this website during August 2014.

Number 1 (1,135 views) : Team GB Lycra skinsuit
Team GB Lycra skinsuit

Number 2 (920 views) : On the way to Oban
On the way to Oban

Number 3 (396 views) : Sitting in a Class 380
Sitting in a Class 380

Great fun cycling with a friend!

Had so much fun cycling with a friend today! I will feel it, tomorrow! Been up since 8am! Which my body is not use to, at all! Also covered just over 75 miles! So the longest cycle of the year so far :).

I will leave you will some photos from the cycle! I will post the route and cycling statistics later…

Tristan and myself in Lycra
Tristan and myself in Lycra

Ice Bucket Challenge HD video @ theDogs!

Here another video of the restaurant staff at the Peterborough Greyhound Stadium (my place of work), doing the Ice Bucket Challenge.

This version is in full HD, since it’s on YouTube this time 🙂

UK TV programmes to watch this week : 30/08/2014

Grand Designs | 03-09-2014 (YouView app)Doctor Who (BBC 1/HD | 7:30pm to 8:15pm | Saturday 30th August 2014)

Sci-fi drama. A Dalek fleet surrounds a lone rebel ship, and only the Doctor can help them. As he faces his greatest enemy, he needs Clara by his side. Confronted with a decision that could change the Daleks forever, he is forced to examine his conscience. Ser. 54, Ep. 2.

The Bridge: Fifty Years across the Forth (BBC 1 Scotland/HD & BBC iPlayer only | 7:00pm to 8:00pm | Sunday 31st August 2014)

Documentary celebrating the 50th anniversary of one of Scotland’s great landmarks, the Forth Road Bridge. The programme charts the memories of the people who built the bridge, the biggest of its kind in Europe at the time, as well as those who ran the Forth ferries that stopped running when it opened in 1964.

Alex Polizzi: The Fixer (BBC 2/HD | 9:00pm to 10:00pm | Monday 1st September 2014)

Alex Polizzi, champion of small businesses, returns with a new series. This time she is finding fixes for the critical issues that kill so many companies. In this episode, Alex looks at exporting. Six years ago it was Paul Walker’s dream to set up his very own microbrewery in the heart of the Devon countryside. But his dream has turned into a nightmare; finances are spiralling out of control and family life is suffering. A taste test at Sharp’s Brewery ruffles some feathers and a trip to Paris reveals interesting opportunities inherent within brand Britain. Can Alex capitalise on the growing popularity of British real ales and show a small firm how to shape up in order to ship out?

Dogs: Their Secret Lives (Channel 4/HD | 8:00pm to 9:00pm | Tuesday 2nd September 2014)

It’s not common to associate dogs with mental health issues but some of our pooches are displaying symptoms, from compulsive behaviours and chronic fears to unusual behaviour like traffic-chasing. Applying the latest technology, using surveillance filming and working with the UK’s top behaviourists, Dogs: Their Secret Lives looks into the minds of our dogs and meets three troubled pets – Max, the spinning German shepherd, compulsive bus-chasing collie Biscuit, and Roxy the Staffordshire bull terrier, who’s terrified of the great outdoors – to find out what could be at the root of their problems and how to help them. Mark Evans, the former chief vet at the RSCPA, explores the latest brain scanning experiments, meets dogs with incredible learning abilities and finds out about the latest medications as he investigates the challenges facing the 21st-century dog.

Our Zoo (BBC 1/HD | 9:00pm to 10:00pm | Wednesday 3rd September 2014)

Drama series based on the true story of the Mottershead family who, in the face of staunch opposition and huge personal sacrifice, founded Chester Zoo in the 1930s. Frustrated by living with his wife and two daughters under his parents’ roof and tormented by his war trauma, George decides to change his life and put a bit of beauty back into the world. Driven by his unique love of animals and unable to stand by while an unwanted squirrel monkey and a camel are put down in the quarantine bay at the docks, George houses the animals in his parents’ backyard. His youngest daughter, June, immediately falls in love with them, but Lucy, his mother, quickly loses patience with George’s state of mind.

Grand Designs (Channel 4 | HD | 9:00pm to 10:00pm | Wednesday 3rd September 2014)

Designer and writer Kevin McCloud follows Britain’s most ambitious and astonishing house-building or rebuilding projects.

Scrappers (BBC 1/HD | 8:30pm to 9:00pm | Friday 5th September 2014)

Documentary following straight-talking Terry and glamorous Lyndsay, who run a multimillion-pound scrap empire from Bolton’s Metro Salvage, the biggest scrap metal yard in the north west. The yard is running smoothly, and Terry is getting bored. His plan to get the lads to take part in a semi-naked calendar might keep him amused, but it is not clear whether anyone else will join in. When Terry tries to make a quick profit selling grit salt, Lyndsay realises she needs to keep her eye on him. She would love to get him to slow down, but as the team gathers for the staff Christmas party, it is clear that retirement is the last thing on his mind.

The Last Leg (Channel 4/HD | 10:00pm to 10:50pm | Friday 5th September 2014)

Adam Hills and regular co-hosts Josh Widdicombe and Alex Brooker consider the weird and wonderful talking points of the week in the company of a studio audience and guest Nick Frost. The show also features 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, and the three hosts attempt to step into the minefield of sometimes difficult and delicate areas and answer the questions with their own unique insight.

All TV guide information taken from DigiGuide — www.getdigiguide.tv/?p=1&r=15119.