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.

BBC logo

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
Wetsuit cycling

Number 2 (177 views) : Wetsuit cycling
Wetsuit cycling

Number 3 (141 views) : Pearl Izumi Team Garmin-Chipotle team kit
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.

UK TV programmes to watch this week : 06/07/2013

Top Gear (BBC2/HD | 8pm to 9pm | Sunday 7th July 2013)

Motoring magazine. Jeremy Clarkson tests the sensational 730 horsepower Ferrari F12 in the wide open spaces of Scotland, Richard Hammond harnesses the power of motorsport to find the world’s best taxi, and James May pays tribute to BBC Television Centre using a motorcyclist and a pair of parkour runners. Meanwhile, the extraordinary BAC Mono is put to the test on the track and movie director Ron Howard is the star in the brand new Reasonably Priced Car.

The Cycle Show (itv4 | 8pm to 9pm | Monday 8th July 2013)

The cycling magazine show returns for a brand new series with regular presenter Graham Little covering all aspects from cycling holidays, to testing the latest road bikes. Special guests this week include Alex Dowsett, the British pro cyclist from Essex who recently won the time trial stage at this year’s Giro D’Italia, and Swedish rider Magnus Backstedt a former winner of the prestigious Paris-Roubaix race.

Undercover Boss (Channel 4/HD | 9pm to 10pm | Monday 8th July 2013)

Private security company boss Geoff Zeidler of Securitas spearheaded a risky takeover of two rival firms just as the worldwide recession took hold. Securitas’s global profits are down by a staggering £65 million and he’s now responsible for 12,000 officers that the company didn’t originally recruit. So he’s gone undercover to find out if his new officers are of the high calibre the customers expect. After years in the boardroom, this public school boy is shocked by how much pressure his new staff are under, and blown away by the personal sacrifices the security officers make. After witnessing the violence that his officers tackle and the racial abuse they endure, Geoff’s forced to consider whether Securitas has more to worry about than just the bottom line.

Piper Alpha: Fire in the Night (BBC2/HD | 9pm to 10pm | Tuesday 9th July 2013)

Documentary chronicling the tragic events that occurred in the North Sea on board the Piper Alpha rig in July 1988, in what was the world’s deadliest offshore oil disaster. It was a cataclysm that killed 167 men and left only 61 survivors. Emotional testimonies, archive footage and dramatic reconstructions show how survivors, against all odds, escaped the inferno – including those who were forced to jump from the 175ft high Helideck into the sea below.

Hebrides: Islands on the Edge (BBC2/HD | 9pm to 10pm | Thursday 11th July 2013)

Ewan McGregor narrates a landmark nature series focusing on the wildlife struggling to survive on the Hebridean Islands. In this edition, the arrival of autumn sees young swallows, otters and grey seals face the biggest storms and highest tides of the year. Tens of thousands of geese and swans arriving for the winter encounter predatory white-tailed eagles ready to hunt them. And on the Isle of Rum, a stag faces the ultimate challenge in a battle to decide the true Monarch of the Glen.

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

05-Jul-2013 | Nalini HTC columbia team kit photos

Here are some photos of myself wearing the Nalini HTC columbia team kit. During today’s mini 24.14 mile cycle. I say mini, since to me anything less than 30 miles is a mini cycle.

Nalini Columbia Highroad Team kit

Nalini Columbia Highroad Team kit

Nalini Columbia Highroad Team kit

Nalini Columbia Highroad Team kit

Website statistics for June 2013

Below are the main website statistics for June 2013.

  • Unique visitors: 6,601.
  • Bandwidth: 7.27 GB.
  • Browsers: IE (19.3%), Firefox (38.5%), Chrome (16.2%), Safari (10.7%), Opera (6.9%).
  • Operating Systems: Windows (67.7%), Macintosh (16.4%), Others (8.8%), Linux (7%).
  • Most viewed blog entry: Spider-Man photos : A74(M) : 06-Jun-2013 (310 views | Posted: 06/07/2013).
  • Most viewed photo: Wetsuit cycling (322 views | Taken 24/05/2013).

Data from AWStats.

June 2013 most popular photos

Below are the top three most looked at photos on this website during June 2013.

Number 1 (322 views) : Wetsuit cycling
Wetsuit cycling

Number 2 (311 views) : Wetsuit cycling
Wetsuit cycling

Number 3 (198 views) : Wetsuit cycling
Wetsuit cycling

June 2013 cycling statistics

Here are my cycling statistics for June 2013. I ended up doing 763.79 this month. Making it the second month in a row, I have done over 760 miles! Also this month, I can now say I have done 30,000 miles of cycling since April 2003! Which I am, very pleased with to say the least. By the end of the year, that total should be well over 32,500 miles :).

So far my yearly total stands at 3,155.1 miles. Total miles since April 2003 now stands at 30,070.4.

Here is the data from June 2013:-

  • Total cycles: 29
  • Total Distance: 763.79 miles
  • Total Time: 58:20:00 (h:m:s)
  • Avg Speed: 13.1 mph
  • Max Time: 4:37:35 (h:m:s)
  • Max Speed: 37 mph
  • Avg Distance: 26.34 miles
  • Max Distance: 59.19 miles | 05-Jun-2013 : Killearn to Inversnaid

Data from: Garmin Connect.

Here are my favourite cycling photos from the month:-

NCR 7 route to GartmoreLoch Arkletdsc03101PBK Team Long Sleeve Skinsuit 2009Pearl Izumi Team Garmin-Chipotle team kit

UK TV programmes to watch this week : 29/06/2013

Tour De France 2013 Highlights (itv4 | 7pm to 8pm | Saturday 29th June 2013)

Highlights from stage one of the 100th edition of the Tour starts on the Island of Corsica, the only area of France that has never hosted the Tour before. The first 213km stage runs through the magnificent scenery of Corsica towards the finish in Bastia where the winner will almost certainly be a sprinter. This is a golden opportunity for Mark Cavendish to claim the yellow jersey. Presented by Gary Imlach with analysis fom Chris Boardman, and Ned Boulting is out at the roadside. Commentary by Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwen.

Top Gear (BBC2/HD | 8pm to 9pm | Sunday 30th June 2013)

The motoring magazine returns with the action kicking off in New Zealand, as Jeremy Clarkson and James May race a car against a boat in a nail-biting battle up the beautiful coastline to the very tip of the North Island. The boat is a state-of-the-art America’s Cup yacht, while the car is of a type many are familiar with yet have never before seen on Top Gear. Meanwhile, back in the UK, Richard Hammond attempts to find a hot hatch hero from a trio of newcomers, the Renaultsport Clio 200, Peugeot 208 GTI and Ford Fiesta ST, and a cavalcade of top stars assemble at the track to welcome a brand new Reasonably Priced Car.

Undercover Boss (Channel 4/HD | 9pm to 10pm | Monday 1st July 2013)

New series of the show in which high-flying executives take extraordinary steps to ensure their companies are fighting fit by going undercover in their own businesses. Starting the series is DHL. In the three years since Chief Executive Phil Couchman became boss, he’s seen the company’s turnover reach a massive 800 million pounds. But rapid expansion brings its own problems. So, Phil is heading back to the frontline to work alongside his staff. Terrified of losing even a single customer to fierce competition, Phil aims to find out if workers are delivering the top notch service he expects. But when the CEO goes undercover he discovers a stretched workforce and customer service staff who are tied up in red tape. And, moved by a courier who supports his family in Brazil but has no job security, another whose job is stretching his body to breaking point, and finally couriers being paid unfairly, Phil is forced to consider whether DHL have more to worry about than just their customers.

The Route Masters: Running London’s Roads (BBC2/HD | 9pm to 10pm | Tuesday 2nd July 2013)

More people now travel on London buses each day than on the rest of the UK’s buses combined. With passenger numbers up sixty percent since 2000, the capital’s bus drivers are under colossal pressure. And from their cab, they see how our behaviour has changed in that time. Driver Alex is an old hand who complains that no-one says hello to him any more. Driver Sadie thinks we are all in such a hurry we are heading for nervous breakdowns. Trainee driver Christine is worried about getting lost. Behind every driver is a controller who tracks drivers’ whereabouts and tells them to hurry up and slow down. The controllers themselves must hit strict targets if the service is to stay on track. The answer to all this pressure may lie in Transport for London’s big new idea: to bring back the Routemaster, with conductors. We see the new 21st century Routemaster being built in the factory in Northern Ireland, and follow it as it hits the streets of London. Will it make bus travel fun again?

Waterloo Road (BBC1/HD | 8pm to 9pm | Thursday 4th July 2013)

School-based drama. Grantly is alive and Tom is finally ready to donate his kidney. But when former bad boy pupil Kyle Stack shows up at Waterloo Road, matters take a turn for the worse after Tom tries to help the troubled boy.

Summer’s Supermarket Secrets (BBC1/HD | 9pm to 10pm | Thursday 4th July 2013)

Gregg Wallace goes behind the scenes with Britain’s biggest food retailers over the course of a year to discover how they source, make and move the food we find on the supermarket shelves. He has exclusive access to the buyers, product developers, food technologists and backroom teams, and gets the insider’s guide to how much they know about us and our tastes. In this, the first of four episodes, Gregg reveals how the supermarkets bring us our summer favourites. He finds out why there is more than meets the eye in a supermarket strawberry, what it takes to bring us our barbeques, and how they stay one step ahead of the weather.

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