First full day in Scoland

Well OK, maybe not the best blog title in the world. Since it may make you think it’s my first every full day in Scotland. Which of course it’s not, since I grow up here. It’s just my first full day here, since driving up on Sunday.

So what have I done today then? Well not really that much, since it’s been wet and windy just about all day. Then it’s Scotland so of course it’s going to be wet. Half washing I had taken a wetsuit up with me!

Over all it’s been a good day. Went into town my Dad and Mum. First time I had been out a good run in there new car. Really like it, still find it weird, when having a 4×4, since they have never had one before. We went to a shop called GO Outdoors. Which I am sure you can tell by the the name sells outdoors stuff. So I get myself some walking boots, which my Mum and Dad, paid for as part of my birthday :).

Once back home to Killearn. I spend most of the evening, just playing around on the net. Yes nothing new there at all. And watching the first series of Torchwood, seen it before. But only when it was on TV. Back then I did not have Freeview HD or Freesat HD. So watching it on blu-ray is so much better. I watched the first 5 episodes. I will no doubt end up watching the rest tomorrow evening.

So that was my first day in Scotland. Tomorrow should be better, since I am meeting up with a friend from my Balfron High School days and going to look around the Glasgow transport museum.

That’s me in Scotland :)

That’s me up in Scotland for 2 weeks :). I am up looking after the family dog Ghille, while my Mum and Dad go on holiday. They go on Wednesday, but I drove up today, so I get to spend some time with them before they go. Since I have not seen them since April. They do normally come down in June to see me. But Ghille is getting old, so they did not want to leave him.

The weather up is here cold. Funny when I left my village in England around 11:30am, it was 20C and blue sky. Get up here and it’s 14C and very, very wet. Just hope the weather gets a bit better, while here. Since I want to get some cycling in while here. Also want to get to see some friends while here. Don’t really feel like walking around Glasgow in the pissing down rain.

I will try to post a new blog most times. Well that’s if the weather is OK. If it’s crap,you will not want to hear, about what, I have been watching on TV all day!

September’s 2011 most popular photos

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

Number 1 (416 views)
Adidas full body suit

Number 2 (248 views)
Adidas full body suit

Number 3 (215 views)
UCI World Cup Team skinsuit

September 2011 cycling statistics

Here are my cycling statistics for September.  My yearly total now stands at 4,434.5 miles. Total miles since April 2003 is now at 20,994.3.

So if nothing goes wrong, looks like I will make the 5,000 mile make before the year is out :).

Here is the data from September 2011:-

  • Total cycles: 27
  • Total Distance: 544.04 miles
  • Total Time: 40:11:57 (h:m:s)
  • Avg Speed: 13.5 mph
  • Max Time: 7:20:29 (h:m:s)
  • Max Speed: 30.3 mph
  • Avg Distance: 20.15 miles
  • Max Distance: 100.44 miles

Data from: Garmin Connect.

Here are my favourite cycling photos from the month:-

Thanks for all the birthday messages

I would like to say thanks to everyone that sent me birthday messages. I got so many of them on here, facebook and twitter :). So makes up for only getting one birthday card this year :(. Still to get one from my Mum and Dad, there is a reason why I have not got it. Since I am going up to Scotland on Sunday, I am having second birthday with them :).

So what did I do on my big day? I did nothing at all. Just the way I like it. Some friends did want to me to out for a meal, but I said no. Just was not really in the mood for doing anything for it. But I did get out a nice short 27 mile bike ride to make the most of the great weather we’re having right now in the UK. It does not feel like late September at all.

R.E.M. are no more

Some very, very sad news in the music world. That is after 31 years R.E.M. have broken up :(. I would say they are one of my all time favourite bands. I have now less then 13 of there albums and 4 of there DVDs.  I could at first not believe it, when I read it on the BBC news website. They have been around since 1980, so the year after I was born. So they have been a big part of much of my life. They will be very, very much missed.

Is you are are R.E.M. fan you may wait to check out Absolute Radio 90s this Sunday, since they are having a R.E.M. day.

In other news, I got my very first Birthday card today. So very, very big thanks to Mark! I can’t believe this time next week, I will be 32.

I will leave you with my all time favourite R.E.M. song. Which is Everybody Hurts.

Oh sorry just one more thing, I would love to hear what your favourite R.E.M. song is and why.

US military gay ban ends today

The ban on openly gay and lesbian US troops ends today (20th September 2011), after nearly two decades. The law, known as Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, allowed gays and lesbians to serve in the military if they kept their sexual orientation a secret.

I know this does not really have anything much, to do with me. Since I am not American or for that matter in the military. But I was reading a news article on the Pink News website. About a young airman that came out to his father via the telephone and broadcast a webcam recording of the event on YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVAgz6iyK6A

You may not want to read the comments about the vlog on YouTube, since all the anti-gay people are posting lots of crap.

My new cycling shoes are here

First all of happy birthday to my older bother Douglas and my Dad. Hope you are both having great days, sorry I could not make it up to Scotland for them.

So now on with other news. My new cycling shoes, that I ordered from Fat Birds Don’t Fly, last Thursday I think it was. Have turned up :). Can’t really say to much about them to far, since I have still to take them out for a test ride. They fit, which of course is always a good start. In the photo to the left you can see the new ones at the back and old ones at the front.

Hoping that the wind drops off a bit later, so I can see what they are like on the bike.

That’s all for now folks :).