Last day in Pittsburgh...

On Thursday we headed for 'the strip' - or Smallman Street, which is virtually next door to Pittsburgh's David Lawrence Convention Centre, it's where the restaurant Eleven is located AND the Heinz museum, which my colleague Pete visited while I was having lunch in Market Square (see previous post).

The view from the Grand View Restaurant, Pittsburgh

This week I have walked many miles because being on foot is, arguably, the best way to get around IF, like me, your hotel is close (ish) to where your work is located. Every day for the past six days, I've walked over two miles a day just getting to and from the David Lawrence Convention Centre, but then, outside of that journey, I have made many others and all on foot; and as discussed in the previous post, excessive walking probably helped with my overall health bearing in mind the type of food and the quantities I was eating (mainly burger and fries). Oddly, I didn't have many desserts (thank God!). I've enjoyed a couple of cookies (and by that I mean I've had TWO cookies, one in Starbucks and another in Yinz, an independent coffee shop on Station Square) and I remember a rather dainty dessert at a dinner on Smallman Street on Tuesday night from where I considered walking back to my hotel but decided against it as I didn't really know much about Pittsburgh at night. But suffice it to say that walking was a major part of the last week and I'm talking about 20,000 steps daily.

I'm losing track of what lunch we had where and on what day. So the following is a little bit sketchy. At some stage we had an awful pizza on the strip (it was square and not what I considered to be a pizza, they're at least round!). At the same restaurant I ordered an even more disgusting no-alcohol beer, this might well have been in the late afternoon of Thursday. The previous day we'd been to Eleven for dinner where, as mentioned in the previous post, we ordered from the Tavern menu and I ordered, yes, you guessed it, another burger and chips (I left most of it). As I say, I'm losing track of what I ate and when. Thursday night I think we were on Smallman Street again where dinner was a fried chicken sandwich and a root beer for me; Pete had the same but with a can of Sprite. 

My last burger and chips in Pittsburgh's Grand View Restaurant

There's a great Starbucks on the strip. I was there late in the afternoon of Tuesday ahead of a planned business dinner, also on the strip. I ordered a cookie and an English Breakfast Tea and simply chilled out. I was there again with Pete possibly on Thursday afternoon and preceding the fried chicken dinner with the root beer. Pete and I set the world to rights, talked about music and generally chilled out.

On Friday we headed for Mount Washington and what was the Coal Hill Steakhouse. It's still there but it's no longer called the Coal Hill Steakhouse. I can't remember what it was called, I think it's now The Grand View Restaurant, something like that, but the management is the same and so is the food. And yes, I ordered another burger and chips, had a non-alcohol cocktail and finished with a cup of tea. I'd asked for English Breakfast but was given Earl Grey, which was awful, and I like Earl Grey! The view of Pittsburgh was great and just how I remembered it in 2019 and 2022, but the food wasn't that good.

On Friday we had to check out by 1100hrs, which we did. It took me a while to cram everything into my suitcase but I managed it and then we hit the road again and went to Mount Washington. The funicular railway linking ground level Pittsburgh with Mount Washington was closed and, as we were soon to find out, some passengers travelling on it the previous evening had to be rescued by the emergency services following a malfunction of some sort that left tourists stranded on the incline. 

As we approached the funicular railway with a view to using it and unaware of what had taken place the previous night, I turned to Pete and said 'I bet it's closed' and sure enough it was, because of the aforementioned incident. At that point a man with a television camera strutted across the road and asked if we'd like a chat. We said yes and then a reporter appeared and started an interview for the local television station. It broadcasted around 1800hrs giving both Pete and I the chance to see ourselves on TV before jumping into a cab and heading for the airport.

After a short cab ride we arrived at the airport, checked in our bags and then chilled out in a Joe the Juice after walking around the airport. At last, I thought, as I tucked in to something decent (a chicken and avocado sandwich accompanied by a ginger tea and a healthy juice drink, which was great.

The flight was on time and very smooth all the way. We landed in London earlier than scheduled and then we went our separate ways. There is a view that if you stay up until the night time of the country you have landed in, your jet lag will be allieviated somewhat. Well, it's almost 2200hrs and while I've been taking it easy, watching YouTube videos, and nodding off occasionally in the process, I haven't really been to sleep in the true sense of the word. In fact, I might watch a bit of YouTube again and will probably hit the sack around 2230 if not later. It's amazing how somehow I still have gas in the tank, but I know that when I hit the pillow I'll sleep well. Here's hoping.

Postscript...

In the end I stayed up until almost midnight, watching a documentary on iPlayer about Paul McCartney's lost Hofner bass guitar. I need to finish it, which I will later. I slept a total of 10 hours, not bad, and now here I am watching a YouTube video, well, half-watching it. Last night, or late in the afternoon yesterday I watched chilled stuff on YouTube like Nomad Sam and Rewilding Jude, the latter recently inspired me to get out into the garden and take down a dead tree. Basically the 'vlog' is all about a guy called Jude whose parents both died. He decided to move to a remote part of Scotland and live in a crofter's cottage with land for a reasonably-sized garden, he's done a lot with it, taken on chickens and growing his own vegetables, it's a great watch, or at least I think it is. Nomad Sam is all about Sam, who lives in a tent with his dog and travels around the country, staying in remote places for a few weeks/months and then moving on. He is now in the Scottish Highlands. They both chill me out and that was what I needed yesterday.

Avid readers of this blog will know that I have read Martin Downham's Remind Me to Smile, which I've probably mentioned before, it's a great read and yesterday, being in mind that he is Pete's dad, I met him, albeit briefly, at the airport. I just wish I'd been a little more awake, but I managed to tell him he had written a great book and shook his hand. Pete's mum was there too and I was offered a lift, but I didn't want to put them out and opted instead for the Heathrow Express.

Swimming, cycling, improved weather...

 I went down with a bit of a cold and as a result I had to forfeit the ride on Sunday to meet Andy; that was the week before last, but last week Andy couldn't make it so I had to motivate myself. Fortunately, the poor weather seems to have left the building so I rode to Westerham last Sunday despite the fact that my original plan had been to visit the Velobarn, which seems to open when it pleases. I rode along Pilgrim's Lane and found the place to be closed, leaving me no option than to ride into Westerham, which I did, stopping at Costa, padlocking the bike outside and enjoying a very pleasant cup of English Breakfast tea in the sunshine.

The ride back, was as expected and when I passed the Velobarn it was still closed. Their loss, I was thinking, their loss. It wasn't long before I reached Botley Hill and then before too long I was home. In a complete break with tradition I quickly went out again to do the Norfolk Nobbler, a six-miler round the local streets, which can be quite a work-out. In total I rode 28 miles last Sunday and felt better for it. 

What arsewipes did this?

Last Thursday, the one just gone (6 March) I went for a swim at my local pool. Half a mile is a good distance, takes around 30 minutes, 32 lengths, and on a Thursday the pool is pretty much empty. A pleasant hot shower followed and because I'd parked my car in the supermarket across the road, there was no parking charges, meaning I could relax a little and enjoy my shower, which I did. 

I've been having a few problems with the pool membership. I was originally on a plan that was restricted to just one pool and this was causing issues because if I wanted to go more than once a week (I have to go twice a week to make it pay) it was difficult in terms of available times to go. So, I upgraded my membership, which meant I could use a pool slightly further away, but when I got there last Friday evening I wasn't too happy with the pool. All the changing rooms were damp, the locker system was different and basically, all the faffing around made me leave the place in a mild huff without a swim, although if I dig dip I'd probably discover that I wasn't really up for a swim and needed instead to simply relax. I'll now have to degrade my membership to what it was before and try and work out a different solution. I'm planning on one swim per week twice a month and two swims per week on the remaining two weeks. Again, not a problem.

During the week I had the bike serviced. I was initially having problems with the inner tube valve, which I simply couldn't undo in order to inflate the inner tube. I took it to the bike shop and he fixed it. I now have a new tyre and inner tube on the back. While I was there I asked him to fix the bottom bracket, which had well and truly gone, and he said I might as well get a service, so I booked the bike in. The brakes are now fixed, there's a new chain and block and the bottom bracket is fixed too but, as always, the price was almost that of a new bike, albeit a very low spec machine. For an extra forty quid I could have walked out of there with a new one. But hey ho. I didn't buy a new bike, I had my Rockhopper fixed and it's running smoothly as a result and that's all that matters.

I had a haircut during the week and asked for a number three. "That's a skinhead," said the barber. "I know," I said, and he got on with it. I feel much better after a short haircut and I look better too. Nothing worse than straggly hair, it looks so untidy, especially when it's greying. That set me back around £15, which was fine. Afterwards I went to Costa Coffee for an English Breakfast tea and a Bakewell tart. But I wasn't relaxed and after around 10 minutes I left and drove home.

Today, Saturday 8th March, I did a Washpond Weeble, just over 12 miles. The weather is great today, not cold, but I left the house late and decided to shorten the ride; I was going to head for Oxted or Westerham or, if it was open, the Velobarn but decided instead on a non-stop ride which took just over an hour. Riding through Washpond Lane I noticed that some arse wipes had set fire to a car and left it in a pile by the side of the road. I mean, what kind of arseholes do that sort of thing? It was, however, a pleasant ride and now I'm back home writing the blog, which I haven't been doing as frequently as I should. Oddly, when I checked the weekly stats for this past week, the number was well over 10,000 visitors, it's now around 6,000. I love it when reader numbers go up or whatever it is the figures relate to.

Outside the sun is shining and the skies are fairly blue, it's 8th March and the bees are out, the snowdrops and the crocuses are on the lawns and there are signs of daffodils too. In short, the summer is on the way and I love it. It means more cycling and that's what I like.

Tomorrow (Sunday 9th March) I'm hoping to see Andy at Sheree's Tearooms, that's around 17 miles, so 29 miles in total, I might even ride into Westerham afterwards if the weather holds and knock the mileage over the 30-mile marker. Who knows? I might not!

Oxted and Westerham

I left the house at 0700hrs. It's almost mid-October and the weather is still fine, really fine. It wasn't cold, put it that way, almost tee-shirt weather. In fact, forget 'almost', it is tee-shirt weather. I was headed for Westerham to meet Andy around 0800hrs. It's been a long time since I left the house at such an ungodly hour. I was going used to the 0800hrs start, but today it was out of the question, I had things going on, it wasn't one of those nothing days that allowed me to lol around, but it suited me fine. The 269 was quiet. I forgot how quiet. Leave an hour later and there's cars to contend. Leave early and they're few and far between. There were a few cyclists around, there always is and the journey was plain sailing all the way.

A mile or so out of Westerham on the return ride today...

I turned on to Clarks Lane and coasted downhill and into Westerham. I got there just after 0800hrs and Andy was still queuing. I joined him, although he was ahead of me and didn't spot me until he'd received his order and was heading for the table by the window. We acknowledged one another and then later, armed with a large English Breakfast tea, I joined him and we chatted. We talked about bikes, about Andy's stationary bike and his 10 miles per day routine, except for weekends when he rides a real bike. I spoke about Park Runs and how I was thinking about doing one. A 5k run in the park, but do I want to risk injury like last time? Every time I take up running I injure myself, either my back or my knee.I escape injury when I'm cycling so perhaps if I'm going to take up something else, perhaps it should be swimming. I used to swim a lot and was recently listening to a podcast about the health benefits of swimming, something to do with blood vessels, I can't remember the details.

The journey home was uneventful. Andy left first and then I followed as always. I take a different route, past the antique shop and up towards the Velobarn. Andy rides through the high street and then follows the route I took on the way in. Today I decided to ride Pilgrim's all the way to Titsey Hill and then all the way up. It's easy enough and reminded me of another part of Andy and I's conversation back at the Costa Coffee. We were talking about nills and some guy on the internet had posted a video about challenging hills in Surrey. Andy said he focused on Chalkpit Lane, claiming it was one of the big inclines. In a sense it is. 20%, but only at the very top. Andy and I thought there were worse, like Succombs, and the hill heading into Knockholt from the other end of Pilgrim's Lane.

I rode up Chalkpit yesterday (Saturday) after spending a little time in Oxted, in a Caffe Nero, sipping green tea and enjoying an apricot something or other, I can't remember what it was called. A pastry of some sort. It was a good ride but I wasn't looking forward to the climb. Before I left town I stopped at the charity shop, for all of five minutes and then I headed home. Chalkpit isn't easy but I just keep going, it's the only way to deal with hills.

I managed two rides, Oxted and Westerham, around 40 miles in total. The rest of the day was fine, as was today, and as I said, the weather held too and apparently it's going to be good for a few more days. Right now, it's 2305 and I'm watching Reptile with Justin Timberlake, it's quite good but I'm not staying up much longer as there's work tomorrow. That's the great thing about Netflix, you can stop and start movies whenever you wish.

Two rides to Oxted and back up Titsey Hill

After my four consecutive 20-miler rides last weekend I'm afraid I didn't ride out again until yesterday (Saturday) meaning my riding was roughly 60 miles this week, thanks to the Easter Bank Holiday and the good weather. Having enjoyed riding to Oxted immensely over recent weeks, even climbing up Titsey was kind of fun, I decided to keep at it. On both occasions this weekend I chose Starbucks as my tea venue even if it is £2.88 for a cuppa, albeit a very large one. Although, oddly, I was a bit miffed at having to pay such a price. A cup of tea? Nearly £3? It was cheaper in the Caffe Nero, but the cup was smaller too, that's why I opted for the Starbucks. Also, the Starbucks was brand new and spacious and for some reason I quite like it. What I might do now that the weather is improving is buy myself a drinks container for £11.99 (Starbucks says it won't leak) meaning I could ride to Oxted with a cup of tea, perhaps bring a tiny drop of milk, and then sit in the park until it's time to ride home. The thing is I quite like being in the coffee shop, ie the Starbucks or the Caffe Nero so buying the container isn't a great idea. We'll see.

Sunday: Tea at Starbucks, £2.88!

Both rides were good, although the weather was certainly a little cooler than the Easter weekend. Not that much cooler, but definitely cooler. On Saturday I sat by the window reading a copy of the Daily Mail that somebody had left behind. I read my stars because, for some reason, even though I don't believe them, I like to think there might be some truth in them, especially if they're full of good news, which they were to a certain extent. I read a bit about Russia, Putin and Ukraine, skipped through some awful stories about children being killed by their parents (in one case a woman addicted to crack cocaine and a young boy with serious asthma problems). Once again, the young child was failed by social workers, which never fails to annoy me. Soon, as always, it was time to head home and the thought of riding up Titsey is no longer daunting. I plan to keep doing it. In fact, the ride to Oxted is good, albeit the 269 is involved, but the earlier I depart, the quieter it is and the return journey is always fine for some reason, although I'm aware that I need to keep a weather eye on motorists as some of them are not at all good and pay very little attention to cyclists. I could (and perhaps should) take The Ridge and ride into Woldingham, far safer it has to be said, but sometimes I like the idea of just getting back home and besides, for some reason, I don't like riding down Slines Oak Road for the top of Woldingham. I don't mind the steep bit at the other end and to be honest I should do my level best to avoid the 269.

Sunday: on the road towards Titsey Hill

The ride up Titsey is almost leisurely. I know that sounds daft when you consider it's a fairly steep and long hill, but once I get going and settle in to it, the ride up is fine and because it's so long and a little monotonous, it's possible to switch off and simply glide up thinking about other things or just losing myself in the scenery. On either side, for instance, there are woods and because the hill means travelling fairly slowly, there's enough time to take them in, enjoy the relative peace and quiet, listen to the birds and generally chill until the sign for Botley Hill appears and I know then that the climb is over. Last week, when I was riding down Titsey on the way to Oxted, actually when I reached the road and everything had levelled out, just before going under the motorway, I saw a massive bird of prey. It was huge, the wingspan must have been around four feet, I don't know, but it was amazing, great to see so early in the morning, and this is what I love about riding a bike into the sticks, which I do all the time. 

Woods on the ride up Titsey Hill

It's important to keep your mind on the road when you're riding down Titsey. It's a 16% drop and the bike can pick up a fair speed, you've got cars going up and down and then you've got White Lane on your left and very often a car suddenly appears and you don't want it pulling out in front of you. I keep my hands slightly pressed on the brakes, slowing the bike down, and it's important to remember that White Lane isn't the only turning on the left that could present problems should a car emerge from it; there's also Pilgrims Lane. Today I worked out that there's an off-road route all the way down on the left hand side of Titsey. I need to check it out. I know about the off-road ride on the right hand side as Andy and I have done it before. Somewhere on this blog there is a photograph of me, taken by Andy, circa 2011 I think, as we reached the end of the off-road track. I think a puddle is involved but my memory is sketchy.

On the downward ride, once the hill is out of the way, the rest of the journey is pretty smooth sailing, particularly after riding under the motorway and entering Limpsfield Village. There's a right turn on a bend into Bluehouse Lane and then a left turn in to Granville, which is a long road, fairly flat, flanked on either side by large houses. At the end there's another left turn and then, with the library on the left, it's a short ride to the high street.

Sunday: Tall trees on Titsey

Both rides this weekend were pretty similar. On Saturday I spent a little time in the charity shop next to the Caffe Nero. You might recall from a previous post that I found a pair of binoculars and a tiny violin in the charity shop. Well, they're both still there, albeit on different shelves. I spent all of three minutes in the store and then resigned myself to the ride back. On Sunday, I parked up the bike outside the Caffe Nero, as I did on Saturday, and then walked down to the Starbucks. The place was busier than yesterday and I momentarily found myself wondering whether to go back to the Caffe Nero, but in the end I stuck with Starbucks and this time sat outside next to a dad and his two kids. Saturday, as you know, I sat by the window reading the Daily Mail. There were five or six Vespa scooters parked up on the other side of the road and eventually the owners emerged from somewhere and rode off up the high street. It sounded like a bunch of petrol lawnmowers and all the riders were old blokes. There was something a little sad and corny about the whole episode, unlike the previous day (Saturday) when I complimented a motorcyclist on his great bike, a 2011 Honda 750 with a V-twin engine. We chatted briefly as I feared his motorcycle knowledge was greater than mine, and then I jumped on my bike and rode off, but not as fast (or as cool) as the guy on the Honda.

On Sunday, half way up the appropriately named Titsey Hill on the ride home, I stumbled across a soft porn magazine that somebody had clearly thrown from a car window. There was a lot of flange and tits aplenty as the pages were magically turned by the wind as I approached. All very surreal. 

I reached home before noon and carried on with my day. 

The iphone SE Third Generation 2022

As avid readers will know, my old iphone XS passed away the week before last, leaving me phoneless. It was great not having a phone, but now I've bought another one, the iphone SE Third Generation 2022, it's red (which means that Apple is giving a percentage of the sale to charity). It goes without saying that I've been faffing around getting the phone working, which it now is, but the key thing is that having a week without a phone has made me think about my future phone usage. I'm going to try not to look at it so often. In fact, I've set up the 'do not disturb' function so that only key people can reach me after 1730hrs during the week. At weekends the phone is totally out of bounds for most people. All I need to do is buy a case for it as the last thing I want is to damage the screen and have to buy another phone. I was going to buy the phone online, but decided to visit the Apple store in Bromley where I found myself down with the all trendy kids.

My new iphone SE Third Generation 2022, it's red!!!