Lincolnshire Ridge

For some time this escarpment in Lincolnshire has fascinated me. In a
flat landscape, despite its diminutive proportions, this ridge has
huge topographic importance as it strides for 60 odd miles from our
Vale of Belvoir through Grantham, Lincoln and ending just short of the
Humber at Scunthorpe. I've put together this 155 mile route for a
ride sometime.

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Knee Diagnosis

Just back from MRI knee scan feedback appointment. There is no trace
of any injury to soft tissue of muscle/ligament across any section.
These structures have a 100% clean bill of health. There is an area
of doubt in the medial meniscus shown by the MRI scan. Neither
conclusively damaged nor healthy. A further physical exam seemed to
back up that the pain mistaken for tendonitis could well be referred
pain from the joint itself. However aggressive manipulation of the
knee joint elicited no pain whatsoever and side by side comparison
yielded no discernible difference. So good that it is not tendonitis,
since pain here is a major warning sign to ease up and hence severely
hampering training this year. However concerning that it is more
untreatable, unresponsive cartilage. I'm going to view the outcome
positively. I'm 41 and done a ton of climbing & running, if I've got a
minor joint issue that doesn't stop me being active then I've done
well. All good that my new love is low impact cycling. I'm pretty
sure that I did have tendonitis over the previous 18 months, but being
proactive in sorting that out, it has done and before the MRI. I will
try and run over the winter and see how it goes, any pain is unlikely
to mean further joint damage, so it will just serve as self limiting
when running volume is too great. I've the option to revisit this
with a knee surgeon at a later date after feedback from recommencing
running. However, knee surgery is a very unlikely option due to the
high probability of making it worse. So bring on 2011.

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Electrolyte

To make the (nearly) perfect electrolyte just buy sea salt and low sodium salt from supermarket and mix together.
The 4 essential elements lost in sweat are lost in a certain ratio, the ideal electrolyte replaces these elements in this ratio.
By combining sea salt and low sodium salt in the ratio 100:20 a close approximation can be made. A lifetimes electrolyte for about £1-50 !!
The image shows all the data and assumes low sodium salt to be 66% potassium chloride 33% sodium chloride, which it always seems to be.
One problem that should be considered is the separation of the salts due to granule size. 
One easy solution is to dissolve the right amount of each and and use for example a dropper bottle.

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Mad River

The River Derwent, this one's in Yorkshire, has it's source 1km from the coast at Filey. The river then continues west and then south for 60 miles before entering the Humber estuary via the River Ouse between Goole and Selby. Mad River!!

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Move to Heage?

Went to see this house in Heage.  Nice spot, just a row of a few houses between Heage and Belper.  I've photoshopped the rear to a cream render :-) Much better.

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I love bank holidays me!

So the cooker packs up, great.  Control went all stiff, then the oven fan mysteriously comes on this evening, seemingly for no reason.  Damned thing was overheating. Control says off, oven thinks otherwise.  What a palaver, getting to the routing of the thermostat. £45 part, I suppose it's worth the hassle. It is old but generally very reliable. Freebie from the folks from when it has kept going, with just 2 minor faults, since about 1983.

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On tenterhooks

Lily is potty training. I took her, in the trailer, to highfields playground
with Charlie running behind. She had a great morning and even managed the
'big kids swing'. A flock of Geese flew over and she nonchalently states
'Geese' as she continued filling the tube with sand. Every other kid was
clamouring for ice-cream from the van, Lily doesn't know what ice cream is
:-) 3 Visits to the toilet and no accidents, best morning for her in a week
I think.
Tender or Tenterhooks? I thought tender hooks were what you hang meat on,
as in tenderising. Tenterhooks are what you stretch a canvas on and I
believe this is the correct phrase to describe psychological tension, makes
sense. Though as a child I always knew it as tender hooks.

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Lovely Peak

Time in the Peak recently. Lots of anticlockwise circuits usually featuring
Crich, Beeley Moor and Winster. But today taking in the Monyash Cafe for the
first time this year. 90 miles and 9000ft of glorious sunshine, heather and
gritstone. Next to no wind and that sublime hum of an inch of rubber on
tarmac.
Took the family around potential new places to live between Ilkeston and
Belper. Gateway to the Peak! And we dropped in on the Windmill at Heage.
Not a fan of Kilburn, but Horsley, Denby, Smalley, Stanley, Brackley Gate
and Heage all get the thumbs up. Just a case of finding the right house now
over the next couple of years.

See and download the full gallery on posterous

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Long live the new life

I'm feeling like I've really landed on my feet in the new position.  A city centre workplace is a very strange concept for me, but so far I can only see perks.  Yesterday I snapped up a bargain in TK Max and today I went for a 4 mile run down the canal.  The offices have a great shower and my 1 hour lunch break has left me time to write this. It is early days as far, as the work itself goes, this being day 5, but early signs look very promising, and we're just in a bug fixing phase at the moment!  Dual monitors, big desk, cool office space, great colleagues (so far!). There is even one nutter like me, who's into endurance stuff; he swam the Channel a couple of years ago. Happy days...

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Bike Fit

I drove down to Leamington Spa this morning for a pro bike fit. I finally
decided to consult some professional wisdom for peace of mind. I also
wanted to verify my research, physio sessions and extend my knowledge in
both bike fit and the particulars of my own biomechanics. I'm getting
closer to a full understanding of what's going on and how to improve the
situation. The main outcome today centred around the lateral tracking of my
knees. Hopefully in the next few hundred miles I will notice a difference
and this will prove to be another piece of the jigsaw complete.

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First Peak ride of the year

77 miles - Heage, Crich, Matlock Moor, Beeley, Winster, Longcliffe,
Ashbourne, A52, Borrowash. Fantastic sunny day, best day cycling since the
Autumn Epic in October. Really reaffirmed what a great sport it is. A sign
just north of Ashbourne said the road was closed, but it didn't say 'and
that includes you on your pushbike' so I took a chance. If you want to get
down the B5056 in order to get to Ashbourne, well you can't, even on a
pushbike. I sort of did some squeezing around diggers and through barriers,
and then a good 20 minutes desludging my cleats. Really, it isn't a good
idea.

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New Shoes!

But there seems to be an error, I ordered the legs as well, but just got the
shoes. Mmmm... not much good without legs. These I'm hoping are an ideal
compromise shoe. Hoping they will handle light fell use, but with the
comfort of a road shoe. There certainly doesn't look like there will be any
issues with the sole.

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Spring is in the Air

A lovely ride round the park. Part hammy physio, part walking the dog, part
entertaining the kids. I did get a few funny looks. Thanks again Paul for a
fabulous contraption!

Harsh winter depletes log supply

Wood store is now in a sorry state after this tough winter, this is all
that's left! Enough for a cold couple of weeks, then it's back to boring
gas. Oh well, nice to know next years supply is all cut, split and
seasoning, just got to pick it up when I can get the car into the presently
soggy wood.

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Chopping Logs

An afternoon chopping logs at my dad's wood. This pile will do me for about
half of next winter. Charlie found a fox to chase and something to roll in.
'Dad, are you a forester, woodsman or an arborealist?' Apparently he's a
forester. And I think it's arborist rather than arborealist. Guy in the
field next door shoots the pheasants, my dad feeds them to keep them off the
land and save them from being shot. Quite partial to pheasant though myself.

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Rehab starts

I've been to the physio and we're thinking a proper rehab is in order, sorting out all the underlying issues, then I can be back in even better form!  I think there are core issues at the erm... core, especially hip mobility. Not sure my hip is flexible enough and so hamstrings overcompensate.  Two weeks of nerve training and range of motion to begin with. And I am imposing my own 'sort my posture out' regime' (he says quickly sitting correctly! Very hard!).  At the end of the day fitness comes back quite quickly, problems take longer. Reassess progress in two weeks, but this going to be a long haul I think.

Sport Injury Depression

I went out on the clubs chain gang tonight. 30 miles with a good few hills.  I was thinking I'll be doing well to hang on all the way round after the short lay-off, whilst everyone else seemed to be turbo training.  I nearly did as well, and it wasn't fitness that let me down. Half way round the hills done and dusted and after a pacey section led out by Dan, the hamstring was really protesting.  Worse then than at any time in the last 12 months. I did the sensible thing, I sat up and cruised round the remaining.

Now I'm faced with the horrible but sensible decision to have a complete lay-off.  I'm booked in at the physio on Tuesday, so I'll reassess then, but things are not looking good.  My long list of stuff I wanted to do this year lies in tatters.  First to go will be the racing, then Nottingham to Monaco looks seriously in jeopardy, and the times I'll get for the time trials will be just too depressing. Perhaps the best I can hope for are some late season sportives. My return to fell running this year is also out the window, so much for Tigger's Tor in a week and I'd had some fantastic runs in the snow over new year.

Perhaps I'll start going down the climbing wall again...

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Pes Anserine Bursitis

So a 2nd opinion via the web and it looks like the doc was right. All the
indicators are correct, a more rapid increase in mileage than was sensible,
hill work and tight hamstrings. I've spent over a year working on improving
the length of my hamstrings and I'm hugely disappointed with progress. It
was just a case of pulled hamstrings but now it seems to be tending towards
hamstring tendonitis and affecting other areas. What a great start to 2010.

http://www.eorthopod.com/content/pes-anserine-bursitis-knee

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Eight Counties Ride - 130 miles

Propose to do this ride soon, well as soon as I feel fit enough after the imposed lay-off.
View Larger Map

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UK's most featureless square kilometre

Reading Map Addict by Mike Parker, kindly loaned by Mat. This bit took my
fancy; the most featurless square kilometre in the UK is this, just south of
the Humber at Ousefleet. It contains just a single electricity pylon, pan
flat and doesn't even have a dyke, tricky in this part of the world.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/1600225.stm

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Washing Up

Washing up is a pain in the butt with kids.  Obviously there is twice as much of it but most of it seems to be plastic.  The plastic stuff floats on the top and makes a bid for freedom, out of the bowl and into the sink, at every opportunity.  The plastic stuff loves to be greasy even when its clean it feels greasy thus wasting more time working out if the damned thing is clean or not. The plastic stuff gets stained and microwave etched thus making it even more difficult to work out if it is clean or not. Before kids the bit of the bowl, plate, spoon etc that really needed cleaning was the concaved bit, you know the bit where an adult would put the food. Kids put the food everywhere so now washing up is like, well you might as well chuck it all on the drive and get the pressure washer out.  I hate plastic. Just give them regular crockery and cutlery, if it breaks then they learnt something.

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Run in the Snow

Managed to get in a 6½ mile run before dark. Running in all this snow is just the best! Running shoes stay dry (and clean!). Defying the bone chilling cold, though a balmy -1°C this afternoon. And it makes the hills even more interesting, though the times less than impressive. You feel like you've stolen a precious moment...
I don't usually listen to anything when I run, I generally prefer all senses plugged in to the outdoors. Though lately I've been out with the iPod. Today's random selection:

• Kasabian - Stuntman
• The The - Sweet Bird of Truth
• Underworld - Tongue
• Radiohead - Faust Arp
• Arctic Monkeys - Still Take You Home
• Shriekback - Big Hush
• David Guetta - Always
• Arctic Monkeys - Red Light...
• Yello - She's Got a Gun
• Yellow Magic Orchestra - Cue
• Aleski Virta - Cosmos Bossa
• Killers - Glamorous...

Abney circuit in the snow

Lovely 15 mile walk along Froggatt, Padley, Millstone, Hathersage, Offerton Moor, Abney, Eyam Moor & Stoney Middleton. Lots of snow that just materialised in the space of a few hours. Whippet Charlie was struggling!

Plantation above Beech Hurst, Eyam