Musical interlude...John Cale, Scotland Yard...

John Cale.

I caught John Cale performing Scotland Yard on last week's Later with Jools Holland. One of the best things I've seen since that Stilo video by Gorillaz. Click here for the full song! And check out John Cale's general stance and the band's lead guitarist. Brilliant.

Tatsfield Bus Stop...

On the road...well, there was no traffic coming so why not? This shot
looks toward Botley Hill, which is about half a mile away.

No cycling on Saturday due to a broken night (I awoke at 4am and couldn't get back to sleep) but we were out on Sunday. Andy rode alone to the Tatsfield Churchyard on Saturday.

We met at 7am on the Green, half an hour earlier than usual, so I admitted defeat on the sleep front – I awoke early again – and rose at 0535hrs. Outside, of course, it was dark and the streetlights were still on at 0630hrs when I ventured out into the garage to get the bike.

Once again, no gloves. I thought they were upstairs in the draw, but no, they're not and, to be honest, not wearing gloves didn't really have an effect until I sped along the B269 on the way home. A cold wind blasted my hands and face and once again I was reminded that winter was truly on the way.

On the way to the bus stop Andy and I chatted about my recent trip to Dusseldorf and I remarked how I found Germany to be clean and efficient: the trams and trains all arrived and departed on time, the people were friendly and largely well turned-out and the general vibe was upbeat.

When I returned to the UK, however, it was a different story: there was a general tardiness about the place, the people were far from well turned out and the vibe was considerably downbeat.

In Germany I never saw any boarded up shop fronts; over here there are plenty. In Germany there was an air of friendliness. At the airport on the way home, a taxi driver gave way to me crossing the road with my bags (that rarely happens in the UK); the staff at Dusseldorf station were really helpful, everything seemed a million times better than 'over here'.

I definitely laboured the point, though, and decided to say no more about it when we reached the bus stop where the conversation changed to all manner of subjects. We sipped tea and munched our cereal bars, watched the Lycra monkeys and then headed for home again. The early start meant arriving home before 0930hrs, which was good.

I'm still without a car and now, of course, it's more difficult to find one as we don't have a car to get around in; we did look at an old Mercedes, but 'old' was the word and people are getting rid of gas-guzzling cars, so we've decided not to bother with it. My pal Alan says a Ford Focus is a good bet so we're looking at a few, but I won't be able to do anything now until next weekend – it's a slow, slow process.

Not much in the news. Cameron and Salmond will sign an agreement today that will give the go-ahead for Scottish independence; a 14-year-old girl shot in the head by the Taliban will be flown to the UK for treatment; and some Austrian bloke with a long name I can't remember has broken the sound barrier by skydiving from a ridiculously dangerous height of 128,000 feet. Mad or what? His visor froze over so he couldn't see his instruments.

Looking east towards Westerham, which is around three miles away.

These photos show blue skies, which are very nice, but it was cold out there and next week I'll find my gloves, hopefully – or buy some more cheap ones from the garage.

This sort of weather, as epitomised by the photographs, is typical NoVisibleLycra weather and very reminiscent of those early days on the road some six years ago.

We'll be out again next weekend and I'd imagine the weather will be pretty much the same. It's great, really and we wouldn't give it up for nobody.

Pre-blog videos found...

Following on from our recent conversation about what we got up to in the pre-blog days – remember that we started cycling in August of 2006 but didn't start the blog until August/September 2009 – I've found some vintage video taken in pre-blog times.

The first is taken in April 2007 near Botley Hill looking down from the top of a steep downhill ride over grass that proved pretty bumpy. The second was taken in Warlingham, only yards from the green, in July and features Andy fixing a puncture having recently fitted Kevlar-enforced tyres on his old Peugeot bicycle.

The video of Andy is, for some reason, on its side, something I tried to rectify but couldn't. They're both fairly short, but evidence that life did exist pre-blog. Andy, I'll apologise now for the title of the puncture video and the car-screeching sound affects produced by the Sony Ericsson phone I owned at the time.

Wandering around Dusseldorf...

On my way towards the old town, I spotted this rather strange-looking
machine. It goes some way to making recumbent bicycles cool.

My work finished around 4pm yesterday and the weather was fine (unlike today) so I decided to stroll through town and head for the river. In my head I was aiming for the old part of town, but in reality, I was simply heading in the direction of the river, which was a mistake. I walked for about an hour, or thereabouts, following tramlines most of the time, but I ended up probably not far from the river, but somewhere off the beaten track.

I retraced my steps using a bus and the help of a Brazilian student who lives in Dusseldorf and soon enough, having changed from bus to tram, I found myself at the Heinrich Heine Strasse, which is a short walk from the old town, which is right on the Rhein (or Rhine as we pronounce it in the UK).

A small square in the old town

Wandering around on your own is fine, but it's nicer when you got somebody to share it with; sadly, I was alone and there's nothing worse in my opinion. Okay, it's nice to have your own space once in a while, but here, as I strolled around the old town, it was strangely lonely. The problem, however, is always the same: I'm on business and not on a holiday and if I was on a holiday, would I visit Dusseldorf? Well, the answer is probably yes. It's under an hour from Gatwick and it's a fairly pleasant sort of place. It's easy to get around, not overly pricey and it has its own charm.

I used to yearn for one of these, but now I'm happy just to look.

Incidentally, on the bike front, I never found any, although I did find some interesting bike shops, selling very expensive MTBs (I like that abbreviation, in fact I like all abbreviations, especially CSR and Capex, which mean 'corporate social responsibility' and 'capital expenditure' respectively). But enough business talk, let's get back to Dusseldorf.

After swanning around and feeling a little sorry for myself (I wanted my wife and daughter to be here too) I found a bar, Bar Cherie on the Kurze Strasse. This was one of those places that you find once in a while and realise that there are places in the world where you can leave everything behind and exist in a completely different space.

Early evening. The Rhein from Dusseldorf's 'old town'.

Bar Cherie was a little on the avant garde side, there was some strange but intriguing music playing on the sound system, the vibe was laid back, there were candles on the tables and for a while I thought all this place needs is some decent food. Lo and behold there was food. I watched as a couple of thin crust pizzas arrived on adjacent tables but decided to eat dinner back at the hotel, mainly because I needed to phone home from the room.

My beer on the table at Bar Cherie

I enjoyed two small bottles of dark beer (Alt) and then left, heading through the shop-lined streets to the subway and a train to Dusseldorf.

I fly back home tonight, but looking at the weather (it's raining) I'm not going to be doing much in the way of sight-seeing. Perhaps I'll head down to Bar Cherie for a last beer as I need to get rid of my coins (what a great excuse!).

The photos accompanying this post were taken yesterday while out and about, apart from the very last one, which is the sign over the top of an office block that is visible from my hotel room. In fact, the shot was taken from my hotel room early this morning. The sign in question has been my friend over the past few days, mildly (and comfortingly) illuminating my room at night.

Bar Cherie, Kurze Strasse 2, Dusseldorf Altstadt (old town).

It looks pretty bleak outside my hotel window now. The trees are blowing about, the sky is cloudy and yes, I'm flying today! As I said a few posts back, whenever I fly anywhere, the weather turns. I can only imagine that's it's bleaker in the UK, but at least when I return it's the weekend.

Right, it's now time to tidy up the room, pack away my stuff and check out of the hotel. One thing I really hate doing is checking out of hotels. I abhor 'vacating the room', I despise packing and I can't stand being reduced to nomad status, a dog without a home.

The Sparda-Bank West sign outside of my hotel window.

Outside it's brightening up a little, so I might get to see some more sights before heading home, although I think I get the gist of Dusseldorf. It's a pleasant city, small but perfectly formed and with easy links from here to there using trains, underground trains, trams and buses. It's one of those places where you could jump on a tube train (I say tubes, they're really trams that go underground near the centre of town) or a bus and you're never far from where you started. You can walk for hours and still be able to hop on some form of public transportation to get you back to your hotel. It's very hard to get lost here, which is great. Time to sign off.

Dusseldorf's an okay sort of place...

For a start, it's only about 50 minutes away from London Gatwick airport and then there's the fact that all the taxi drivers have top-of-the-range Mercedes and VWs. The trains arrive and leave on time and some of them have two decks, there's a decent tram system, which in many ways makes the taxi obsolete and yes, it's a good old place.

I disembarked from this train at Neuss, thinking I was David McCallum in 

a scene from The Great Escape. "Bartlett!"

What struck me most was the cleanliness. London is a dirty place. Dusseldorf is spotless and somebody here tells me that the quality of the clothes in the shops is better than on the other side of the Atlantic. Not that I'd notice stuff like that: I rarely buy clothes and I'd never vouch for the quality of anything I bought be it socks or a suit.

I'll be honest. I haven't had much time to get out and about sight-seeing. I'm on a business trip and there's no Bixi bikes like there were in Montreal. Also, it's dark outside. Remember, it's an hour ahead of the UK so it's darker in the evenings. When I went to Montreal we flew on a Thursday, did our business on the Friday and had the weekend free before I flew down to Atlanta. This time, I flew on a Monday, it's now Wednesday night and I've been working ever since I arrived. Not that working is a bad thing.

The weather here is roughly on a par with the UK. On the day I flew out there was less cloud in Germany than in the UK and it was a little warmer. Now there's a bite in the air, but it's still nicer, although I haven't checked on what the UK weather was like, but I'm guessing it's pretty poor – it has been all summer.

Yesterday I took a double decker train to Neuss, which is on the outskirts of Dusseldorf. Unfortunately, today I took the tram: big mistake. Yesterday I took the mainline train and it took me ten minutes. Today I was late for an appointment because I was all morning on the tram. I even messed up and took the wrong tram and then had to back track until I found the right one. Not good.

Aluminium lady by Bernd W Schmidt – it's very spooky and Schmidt

had a very firm handshake.

Back in Dusseldorf around 4pm and there was little time for anything. Now, having enjoyed dinner in the Schnellenburg Hotel on Rotterdamer Strasse (red wine, seabass) , I'm back at the computer typing this post.

I love travelling in Europe as, for some reason, I always imagine myself in The Bourne Identity or Leon or even The Great Escape. There's something about a European city that brings out the secret spy in me. I know, I'm a big kid, but because I've got a watch with a retro face that lights up at the press of a button, I consider myself to be a  spy carrying valuable microfilm. The reality is that I'm carrying nothing but a load of business cards and a copy of the magazine I'm writing for; still, I can dream, I always do.

When I got off the train from Dusseldorf Hbf to Neuss Hbf (Hbf stands for Haupftbahnhoff) I could have been David McCallum in that scene from The Great Escape when the Gestapo spot Bartlett and McCallum sets up a distraction to  help him escape. Later, one of the great lines from the film: "Your German is good. So also your French I hear. Your hands – up!"

During my travels, I met Bernd W. Schmidt-Pfeil who showed me some works of art he made out of aluminium. He once held an exhibition here in Dusseldorf entitled Aluminations. It's good stuff, if not a little spooky.

From the UK to Germany...

As is customary when I have to fly anywhere, the weather is bad. Driving rain virtually all morning means the prospect of an unpleasant flight. Mind you, with take-off not until 1530hrs today, things might improve. Well, actually, they didn't, but I can report that an easyJet flight that I thought would be something like two hours, turned out to be just 56 minutes. I had enough time to drink one of those tiny plastic bottles of wine (Merlot) – plus a few nuts – before the plane landed in Dusseldorf.

The flight was surprisingly smooth considering that within four seconds of leaving the ground we were in thick cloud. However, within five minutes it was blue skies, then another layer of cloud and then blue skies again. In fact, by the time we'd reached our alloted 33,000ft, we started to descend.

Dusseldorf was experiencing better weather than the UK. Less cloud at any rate and the descent and landing was smooth. I reached the hotel just before 7pm – there's a one-hour time difference between Europe and the UK – and, after taking a wander down to the railway station and just a little bit beyond (found an amazing bike shop, but it was closed) I turned back and resolved to have dinner in the hotel.

"A table for one, please," I said, looking decidedly like Billy No Mates, and was directed to a table by the window where I could eavesdrop on the conversation of some American businessmen who were dining with some Taiwanese businessmen. They could have been Chinese, I can't recall, but the conversation was pretty drab so I contented myself with a copy of the Times, that I'd bought onboard the easyJet flight from Gatwick.

My room at the Holiday Inn, Dusseldorf – less pillows than the Atlanta
Marriott in the USA, but a very lightweight duvet.

A starter of tomato consomme was followed by salmon and noodles and an excellent glass of beer, although a glass of German red wine proved to be not so nice.

Outside of the hotel, there's not a lot to do so now I'm back in my room typing this out and considering an early night. It's 2220hrs here now, that's 2120hrs in the UK and I really ought to hit the sack. Not only is there nothing to do outside, but the street lighting is very dark, so much so that I could hardly see where I was going. Not a good sign.

I'm planning to get up with the lark to do a bit more exploring. I need to find out whether Dusseldorf has the equivalent to Montreal's Bixi Bikes and the UK's Boris Bikes. If the answer is yes, then I'll be taking a ride around Dusseldorf – if I get a free moment.

Haven't had time to take any photographs yet, although here's one of my hotel bedroom (see above). Not so many pillows as the Marriott in Atlanta.

Apple cooler than Aston Martin?

First, don't get me wrong. I'm Apple through and through. They're much better and cooler than PCs and I've always had one. I won't go on, but look at the design! Check out the functionality. See them up close in any computer shop. They're a million times better looking than any PC brand. But Apple's getting cocky. Alright, the iPhone is great. I used to have one, but it's broken having been immersed in salty water. I own a Nokia C1 now, which, at first, I'll admit, I thought it was not cool at all. It's just a phone, everything else is rubbish. There's a crappy camera, it's back to predictive texting again and, well, that's it: it's just a phone. Like a tin of Ronseal, it does exactly what it says on the tin and no more.

The iPhone – how can it be cooler than an Aston Martin?

But one thing that's great about it is this: it really is JUST a phone, so I don't spend time on trains fiddling around with it, as I did with my iPhone. Nope, the old C1 just stays in my pocket or briefcase until somebody calls me or I feel the need to call them. I don't take pointless photographs or videos and while I could listen to music if I wanted to, I don't. It's just a phone as I keep saying.

For many months I felt envious of iPhone users. I'd sit on the train reading a book or newspaper and occasionally glance up and find somebody fiddling with their iPhone. Oh how I wished I could fiddle with mine (the iPhone). But why would you want to fiddle with a Nokia C1? There's no reason at all because it's a boring, old-fashioned mobile phone that is only good for one thing: phoning people; which, after all, is what it's all about.

Unlike the iPhone, the C1's battery can remain charged for a week before going flat, probably longer, and this, no doubt, is because I'm not constantly fiddling with it, although I'm told that the older style mobile phone batteries tended to last longer anyway. The C1 is not as cumbersome as the iphone. It fits in the breast pocket of suit or shirt, it can even fit inside my wallet, I discovered last week.

And now I've started to notice that everybody has an iphone. EVERYBODY!!! And there on the train in the mornings they sit, fiddling around and I'm starting to think that Apple is no longer cool, they're losing it. Big time! How can anything be cool if everybody has one? To be cool is to be unusual. To be cool is to be set apart from the crowd. To be cool is to be different. To be cool is to go against the grain. And from where I'm sitting, Apple is doing the complete opposite. It's no longer cool to own an iPhone, but it's still cool to own an Aston Martin – although it wouldn't be if everybody had one on their driveways.

The gloves are off...when they should be on

A typical October morning. Photo: Andy Smith

The cold weather has definitely arrived. This morning I donned a jumper, but forgot about the gloves. It was dark when I left the house – meaning I could use my new lights – and while no gloves didn't seem to be a problem at first, there was a time later in the ride when I wished I'd put them on. In short, autumn has arrived.

The Lux 10 was brilliant. I had it on flicker mode and it illuminated road signs with a kind of strobe effect, which was fantastic. Powerful lights, that's the key to a dark start, and we're going to get plenty of them over the next few months.

Andy and I met at Warlingham Green as usual and decided to head off for the Tatsfield Bus Stop. It was a 7am meeting so that bit was fine, but Andy forgot his tea cup and only brought along one cereal bar. Talk about spooky, though. Yesterday evening, while in the supermarket, I spied cereal bars on the shelves and considered buying a couple for today's ride. I didn't, but in retrospect I should have done.

Even spookier: this morning, while making the tea, I thought that Andy might forget his mug and considered bringing a spare, just in case, but dismissed the idea. Andy, I figured, was too organised to forget his cup! How wrong! How wrong!

Anyway, we shared one cup and had half a cereal each as we sat at the bus stop wondering why the driver of a blue Ford people carrier had decided to pull up on to the grass verge and abandon his car. It must have been left there overnight due to a breakdown, perhaps. Who knows?

There was a frost on the grass, there were mists on the fields and from now on we'd have to start wearing jumpers, scarves and definitely gloves on our rides. The summer was over – not that it ever really began this year.

As I write this, the sun is out, the sky is blue and it's looking good out there, but earlier this morning it was very chilly. Instead of our usual sprint home along the B269, we turned right off of Clarks Lane into Beddlestead Lane and weaved our way round the small, narrow lanes towards the Warlingham Sainsbury's. This meant tackling Hesiers Hill, which was fine, but I really must ensure I'm in the right gear before riding up a hill. I had to go back down and reapproach it as I'd lost momentum on my initial attempt.

The Boardman's 27 gears – look how clean they are!

Riding down Beddlestead without gloves was painful, bringing home to me how cold it was and also how the winter was well and truly on the way. My hands were bright red with the cold and likewise my face.

Andy and I parted company at Warlingham Green and I continued along the Limpsfield Road, through Sanderstead High Street and then across the Gruffy (that's the name given to Sanderstead Green) and then down Church Way towards home.

Yesterday, I sold the Boardman Comp Mountain Bike and waved it goodbye. A nice-looking bike and I felt a bit sad about parting company with it, but I guess I was only a foster parent to it and at least I know it's gone to a good home over Reading way.

How can I be envious of myself?

I know, it's sounds silly, but I'm really envious of myself. I've been down to Halfords, bought a Boardman Comp mountain bike for £650 and now I'm selling it for £550. Trouble is, it's such a good bike! Twenty seven gears for a start plus an aluminium frame, very lightweight and, well, it's just perfect.

Smart Lux 10 front light – it's very bright! Bring on the winter!

Still I mustn't diss the old Kona. The Boardman is on ebay now and you can see it on the post below this one. I bought it yesterday afternoon and I walked it home. No, I didn't ride it, although I'd like to ride it, it's brilliant!

Anyway, enough of that. I've bought some lights and fitted them on to the Kona. Smart Lux 10 rear and front lights, but it's the front one that takes the biscuit. Powerful lights! I know, I'm a big kid, but if you'd seen me earlier you would be very disillusioned. Why? Well, I was making a fuss. I just couldn't work out how to fit the bastards! I was swearing, losing my rag, everything, much to the dismay of those around me. Alright, I was keeping it down a bit (I was in my back garden) but for a while it was looking as if I'd have to drop the bike into Evans or one of the other local bike shops to where I live. I didn't have to in the end because I sussed it out and now the bike has front and rear lights. Surely, a momentus moment in history for NoVisibleLycra?

Today I had an urban ride. The ride was to Sutton to see mum and it took me roughly 30 minutes from door to door, which ain't bad.

Once at mum's I enjoyed two cups of tea, some bread and marmalade (Bon Maman) and a boiled egg and fingers. Lovely!

The ride out was tremendous as the weather was just right for cycling. It was so good, I found myself singing as I crossed the industrial estate and emerged near The Chase in Wallington and headed down Stafford Road, past Esporta and on towards the top of Wallington High Street.

I hung a right on to Boundary Rd, headed down towards the lights at Ruskin Road, turned left and powered towards the Windsor Castle on the lights where Pound Street joins the Carshalton Road. I was riding along Benyon Road, Carshalton. I turned right into Alma Road, left into Shorts Road, past Dog Shit Alley and then left on to Westmead Road and right into my old house on Rossdale, where mum still lives today.

The Boardman in the garden...now for sale on Ebay. Brand new, unused!!!

See previous post for link to the Ebay page and remember it's ONE HUNDRED

POUNDS CHEAPER!!!!!

I went home the same way, mainly off-road (on pathways) and then through the council estate, up the Venning Road from Five Ways and then down past Whitgift School on Nottingham Road. I turned right on to the Brighton Road and then left into Jarvis and along the Upper Selsdon Road, turning right into Carlton Road, left into Essenden and then right on to West Hill.

A nice ride...but it might have been nice on the Boardman Comp MTB with it's 27 gears. Still, it's got to be sold to reduce debts and besides, my Kona's absolutely fine, especially now it's got some Smart Lux 10 lights. Can't wait for the clocks to go back!

One year ago – how nothing changes!

Click here for a bit of deja vu.