I aborted, but the weather was poor... and we need to buy a car

A familiar site: inside West Croydon Bus Station.

Not having a car and being a 'bus wanker' is beginning to grate a little so today I was up with the lark with the sole intention of taking a look at a Ford Focus in the local Ford dealer's. It sounded promising, but wasn't: 20,000 miles on the clock, one lady owner and it's a fairly old car (2006). But there were problems. It looked a bit worn, there were scuff marks inside and a chunk of trim missing, plus a few exterior blemishes. You might argue that you can't expect much more from a car that amounts to a £3,600 purchase (taking into consideration part exchange on the old Kia) but I wasn't convinced and, fortunately, nor was anybody else.

I've test-driven two Ford Focus cars now and both have had sluggish, almost heavy steering and a sensation of being 'held back', stifled. I can't put my finger on it, but the Astra we drove last week was, by far, one of the best cars I'd seen. It too had low mileage and, I think two owners, but it was immaculate. We'd put in an offer, but they it wasn't accepted, which is annoying when you consider that, like the Focus, it was fairly old (2007). Still, it was not to be, although we did wander down there to repeat our offer...only to have it refused.

A valuable addition to the old wallet...

Back on the buses to get home.

While I know we need a car for various things, I'm quite happy without one. I don't mind walking everywhere and I'm quite used to using the Oyster card on trams and buses, but it's not practical in the long term so a car has to be found, althought not having one means no trips to garages, no multi-storey car parks with their extortionate prices and I swear we're saving money too. Oh that everybody in the family was happy to ride a bike and oh that the roads were safe enough. But sadly, they're not, so a car must be bought and soon.

The Croydon tram – fast and frequent and fun!

"Bus wankers!"

It's been a good few weeks since we learnt that our Kia Piccanto was not worth fixing and that a new car was the only way ahead. The end result, however, has been that we are without a car and have to rely upon the buses to get anywhere.

In all honesty, I don't really mind not having a car, but a car is needed for all sorts of reasons and, therefore, we need to search for one.

Not having a car has its advantages. We walk a lot more than we used to, which is good. It also has many disadvantages, one being that while standing at a bus stop waiting for bus we. and other bus users, have to endure the rudeness of the car driving public.

Last week, on Friday night, standing waiting for a 412 to South Croydon, a car went past, the passenger window went down and the goon inside shouted 'bus wankers!'

He had a point and his comment stiffened my resolve to find another car.

Tatsfield Bus Stop the long way and news of a serious assault...

I'll be honest. When I woke up on Saturday morning I seriously considered an 'abort' text to Phil, but for some reason I held back and at 0730hrs – after a bit of faffing about – I left the house and we both headed for our planned destination: the Tatsfield Bus Stop. Initially, I'd spoke of Botley Hill the fast way, but as we passed Sainsbury's I figured the slow way to the bus stop was more of a work-out in one sense, but also enabled us to chat as we rode along (you can't beat narrow country lanes first thing in the morning as they carry very little traffic).

It was one of those jokey conversations that we strike up once in a while. You know the kind of thing: the sort of stories you hear about people being admitted to A&E with strange objects in places where those strange objects shouldn't be or embarrassing stories about the sort of things people leave in hotel rooms (like blow-up dolls and vibrators).

Matt and Phil, Tatsfield Bus Stop, Saturday 11th Jan 2014.

So, armed with silly and humorous stories of old and trying to remember the name of the river that runs through Istanbul,  we wove our way along the Beddlestead Lane on what was a fairly pleasant day, en route to the Tatsfield Bus Stop. Another source of mirth on the ride was the fact that Phil had exchanged his hi-tech iphone for an HTC phone. Naturally, I ribbed him about it all the way to the bus stop, where we decided to set both phones against one another. Which would find the name of the river running through Istanbul first? Now I thought I would easily win this with Siri, but Siri wasn't in the mood for answering questions and kept putting me off by saying he was too busy or certainly couldn't be bothered to help me out. The problem, of course, was 'no signal' or rather no 3G, which prompted Phil to see if he could get the internet on the HTC: he could! Within seconds Phil had the answer we were looking for: the Bosphorus. Of course! But no thanks to my iphone.

Matters got worse for the iphone. Normally on our rides I bring along a digital camera as it offers a self-timer facility that enables group shots (see last week's post). The iphone, of course, doesn't appear to have a self-timer function but guess what? The trusty old HTC has a self-timer and is, incidentally, responsible for the shot accompanying this post, which ain't at all bad.

Phil emailed me the shot from the HTC and after his sign-off the words 'sent from my HTC' sounded just a little too cocky for my liking.

Going back to earlier on the ride, there had been a lot of faffing about. Once out of the house, minus the waterproof trousers (whenever I wear them, it never rains) I tried, unsuccessfully, to put them on over my trainers and had to give up, take off the trainers and start again. All told, we didn't get moving until around 0745hrs and then we had to stop on Warlingham Green to get some milk (we were running low at home) and a couple of cereal bars.

The ride and the weather were pleasant and, as usual, we were passed by groups of Lycra Monkeys along the Beddlestead Lane. Phil was talking about buying a new bike, but whether he will or not is anybody's guess.

As for Sunday, well, it never happened. Phil texted me late at night to say he was still up waiting for his marmalade to boil and figured he wouldn't be in a fit state to ride out early the next morning. Waiting for his marmalade to boil?

I had planned to go it alone, but switched off the alarm, woke up at 0808hrs and then other things got in the way, family stuff, so I never ventured out at all, which is not good.

Tatsfield stabbing

A report on the BBC website and on the Daily Mail website states that a man in 60s was arrested in connection with the stabbing of a 40-yea-old man in the village of Tatsfield in Surrey. It all took place at a house on the Kemsley Road, Tatsfield, in the early hours (0720GMT).

The stabbed man's injuries were not life-threatening, but the attacker was arrested on suspicion of grevious bodily harm and bailed until 11 February.

The police are appealing for witnesses.

Click here for more...

Red sky in the morning...

A lull in the bad weather meant that we could get out on the bikes. Saturday was terrible and had to be aborted, but Sunday was wonderful with an amazing red sky as Phil and I crossed the churchyard in Sanderstead and headed towards Warlingham Green for an 8am meeting with Andy.

Sanderstead Churchyard, Sunday 5th January 2014, around 8am.

The journey was punctuated by potential puncture problems for Phil who was convinced his rear tyre was deflating. We stopped on a couple of occasions to check it out, but in the end, pumping it up by the pond at the top of Slines Oak Road seemed to do the trick.

As we pressed on along the 269 towards the Tatsfield Bus Stop – our chosen destination – the sky turned into what my father used to call a 'mackerel sky' for all the obvious reasons (it looked like the grey, scaly body of a fish – perhaps a mackerel).

Temperature wise it was fine, albeit a little chilly, but not unbearably so. Phil led the way and it wasn't long before we found ourselves free-wheeling towards the bus stop and the promise of some Christmas cake supplied by Phil, which was very tasty, based on a recipe by Phil's grandmother.

Phil, Matt and Andy at the Tatsfield Bus Stop, Sunday 5th January 2014

We haven't seen Phil since early November, but he's back and plans to keep up the riding.

After tea and three slabs of cake (one slab each – and note the word 'slab' as opposed to 'slice') we packed up and headed home the way we came (along the 269). Andy, as usual, branched off halfway along and Phil and I continued towards Warlingham, through the Green, down through Hamsey and into Sanderstead High Street before crossing the churchyard and free-wheeling down Church Way towards home.

Now, as I write this at 0717hrs on Monday morning, the weather is, once again, appalling. The rain has been hammering down on the conservatory roof and the wind has been blowing strong all through the night. So much for my plan to ride out to the Green this morning for a quick eight-miler!

Andy's not riding next Saturday or Sunday, so it'll be down to Phil and I, but we'll all be back on the bikes the following week, weather permitting.

The rain and the wind continue to batter the UK...and there's no riding today

There are severe weather warnings as the rain and wind continue to batter the UK and, as I sit here now, it carries on; the rain hitting the roof and the wind blowing everywhere. A ride is completely out of the question so this morning I sent an 'abort' text to Andy and he sent one back saying 'let's see what it's like tomorrow'.

Jon in drier times at Hunger's End, Merstham.

I'd like to think we'll get out tomorrow, but the weather forecasters think differently. The UK, they say, is in for some severe winds and rains. Already, as this blog has reported, there has been extensive flooding and power cuts, people have been washed out to sea, the trains have experienced severe delays due to things like fallen trees, and there are, as I've said, problems with travel everywhere.

In fact, I can't think of anything more unpleasant than jumping on the bike and going for a ride. Having said that, my brother Jon enters the NoVisibleLycra "Respect is Due" hall of fame. He went out for a ride on New Year's Day, over to mum's, and took a major soaking in the process. He called me from mum's where I'm guessing he was standing in his underpants, his clothes drying on various radiators.

The story goes that once his clothes were dry he put them on and rode off home, taking another soaking. Still, it gets a 'well done' from the NoVisibleLycra "Respect is Due" committee.

New Year's Eve...more rain and blustery weather

More rain and blustery winds mean no riding today either. So much for my plan to ride out to Warlingham Green all week! Well, who knows, if I'm up to it I'll ride out on New Year's Day 2014, like I did earlier this year (to Botley Hill alone and straight back).

Not much else to report. It's dark outside, there's a load of rubbish on television tonight and, well, that's about the size of it.

This is the last post of 2013 and it's been a good year of riding. We didn't make the Black Horse Ride in the summer, but here's hoping there will be one next year as we're all raring to go. We also didn't get round to riding to the pub, which was a shame, but again, let's try and rectify that next year.

I'm not going to make any new year resolutions, but if I was going to, it would be to keep the bike in a good state of repair, rather than ride (as I tend to all the time) with a dodgy this or a dodgy that – at the moment it's a dodgy front brake and a bottom  bracket in need of fixing). I might even give the old Kona a clean, unlike Andy's Blast, which is always caked in mud.

Had a word with Phil today via texting and I think he'll be back on the bike soon...and he has a load of Christmas cake he might bring along too, so, the sooner the better on that score. Andy's partial to a bit of Christmas cake and so am I, so bring it on.

The other bit of good news in the pipeline is that Simon Cotter from down under might well be in the UK in April. If he does come over, we're planning to meet up and who knows, have a ride, although a beer will suffice. Here's hoping he comes over.

It would be great if Greg Bowles from Iowa made the trip too one of these days, although I'll be in the USA a fair bit, no doubt, so if I can get to Boone, Iowa, I'll drop by and wish him well.

Newsflash!

Just heard on the television news that the UK is 'bracing itself' for more storms and heavy weather, so I'll leave fixing my fence until it's over and done with, although it's the early part of the year that is normally characterised by bad weather conditions. We should be due a consignment of snow soon, any time between now and the end of March, although, as readers of this blog are only too aware, we've had snow in April before – back in 2008, pre-blog days. There are photos on this blog of Andy and I out in the snow in 2008.

A geeky point...

Yes, it's very geeky, but just to let you all know that the busiest year so far for this blog was 2012 with 157 posts. 2013 put in just 118!

A cringeingly poor joke...

Wife to husband: "When I married you, you said you had an ocean-going yacht."
Husband to wife: "Shut up and row."

Next ride...

Saturday 4th January 2014. Be there or be square!

Happy New Year to all those who read and contribute to this blog, especially Andy, Phil, Simon, Greg and my brother Jon (who we ought to see more often).

More heavy winds and rain...

The plan was to ride out today, alone, possibly just to the green and back, but the weather had other plans. As I write this it's raining and the wind is blowing hard outside. I can hear the rain on the conservatory roof above me – definitely not cycling weather.

It's the day before New Year's Eve and I'm in that timeless zone between Christmas and the New Year when nothing much happens and it's hard to tell whether it's the weekend or not. Well, it's not the weekend, it's Monday morning and I know that Andy's off to work today, but only for two days and then it's New Year's Day, arguably the most boring day of the year. In many ways it's like Christmas Day but without the turkey dinner and false bonhomie. There's nothing to do, most people are tired after being fooled into thinking the day before that it was all going to happen as they counted down to midnight only to discover that, on the strike of twelve, everything was exactly the same and nothing at all had changed. New Year's Day is the biggest anti-climax in the world. It's when we all sit around thinking about work, which is normally the following day.

And don't you just hate it when you get into work and find yourself wishing everybody you meet a happy new year. I often find myself wondering when, in the month of January, it's safe not to wish people a happy new year. Probably some time after the middle of the month, around the 15th perhaps. Either way it's horrible.

I've given up making new year resolutions too. Why bother? I never keep to them.

So the wind howls and whistles and the rain patters outside. The bike is in the garage and won't be seeing the road today.

Late start means a short ride to Botley Hill...

For some reason, broken sleep is characterising my life at the moment. I seem to wake up around 2am and then drift off again until around 5am, but then I'm awake and, invariably, I remain that way until it's time to get up.

This morning was slightly different. I was awake around 4am, possibly a bit later, but somehow I managed to nod off and when I woke up it was too late to meet Andy at 8am on Warlingham Green. So I texted him. How about meeting at 8.30am? Fine, so I had time to make tea and sort things out before heading off.

At Botley Hill, Sunday 29 December 2013

Weather-wise it looked cold outside. There was a frost on the road and everywhere so I armed myself with my trusty balaclava, but decided against wearing it until I'd sussed out just how cold it might be out there. In all honesty, it wasn't cold at all so I stuffed the balaclava in my pocket and headed for the green.

The weather was fantastic. A crisp, clear day with a mixture of blue skies underneath wispy cloud. When I reached the green there was no sign of Andy, but then I remembered him saying that if he wasn't there, he'd be at the pond at the top of Slines Oak Road. Sure enough I had a text saying just that, so I saddled up and headed off to meet him.

Our bikes at Botley Hill. Pic by Andy Smith.

It was getting late so we decided to head for Botley Hill rather than ride further to, say, the Tatsfield Bus Stop, the village or the churchyard.

The sun was bright and the skies blue when we dismounted and sipped our tea and then it was simply a  case of heading home again. Everything was so clear. As we rode back along the 269 we could see for miles: the City of London, Canary Wharf, the Shard to the North East and in the North West, and slightly closer, St Helier hospital in Carshalton and Quadrant House in Sutton.

Andy and I parted company half way along the 269 and we're game on to meet again next weekend. I'm off until the new year so I'm thinking of getting a ride in every day until January 2nd. But let's see how it goes – I might just have a lie-in!

Andy's Kona Blast, Slines Oak Pond. Pic by Andy Smith.

On Saturday, by the way, we rode to the Tatsfield Bus Stop the fast way. The roads were wet due the heavy rain the day before, but other than that it was a pretty uneventful ride. So uneventful I actually forgot to say anything about it!

Poor weather means no ride today...

Woodmansterne Green, Boxing Day 2013

The heavy winds and rain are back and have been battering the UK throughout the night and into the morning. Right now, it's the same, putting paid to any thoughts of another ride to Woodmansterne Green, where Andy and I celebrated yesterday morning with a piece of my mum's excellent Christmas cake.

It's odd looking out of the window. In the rear garden the trees and bushes sway, but out front things seem stiller until you look a little closer and realise that riding a bike in these conditions is not advisable.

On the way to Woodmansterne Green yesterday we saw plenty of evidence of the storms that initially battered the country on 23rd December – fallen trees lying across the road – and there's always the risk that one might fall onto cyclists.

My only regret is not biting the bullet and heading out on Christmas morning, a first for this blog, but as you can imagine, family commitments got in the way. Christmas Day and Boxing Day were both pleasant and ideal for riding, although it was cold yesterday riding downhill.

At this time of year I tend to lose track of time, but I know that tomorrow is a normal Saturday and that means a ride, albeit at 8am instead of 7.30am at Warlingham Green. The Tatsfield bus stop beckons if weather permits.

Christmas cake wrapped in foil, Boxing Day 2013. Pic by Andy Smith.

Boxing Day ride to Woodmansterne Green...

It had rained heavily during the night and the residue of wet roads and large puddles greeted us as we rode towards the meeting point at Foxley Lane, Andy coming from Caterham and yours truly from Sanderstead.

Accompanying the wet roads were the corpses of fallen trees, uprooted during the storms of 23 December. There was also a noticeable drop in temperature, not initially, but on our ride back through to Coulsdon from Woodmansterne – almost balaclava weather, I pointed out to Andy.

Being as it was Boxing Day we had some of my mum's excellent Christmas cake to eat instead of the usual cereal bars.

With Boxing Day being a kind of tradition for NoVisibleLycra, we had to take the official shot, which this year proved a problem as you'll see from the images below.

Take one: '...er, where's Matt?"

Take two: '...that's still not right, is it?

Take three: '...perfect (and I still look a little chubby).