time for work

(Sept 2008, originally October 2005)

You wake up. It's early. Too early by far. A thursday morning. Far enough into the week to make the weekend tantalisingly, frustratingly close - but not close enough that you don't have to get up.

It's time to go to work. It's cold and it's still dark. Is riding 12 miles to work really a good idea? (read more)

the highs and the lows

(June 2008)

The bitter and the sweet, the rough and the smooth, or the oriental concept of Yin-Yang. The idea of life as a rollercoaster ride between good times and bad is enshrined in human philosophy (and bad pop music). And so it is when we swing our leg over a motorcycle. For the road riders, the highs are finding that perfect traffic free back road, getting caught up in the moment where man and machine flow through the bends as a single harmonious entity. For those who get their two wheeled kicks on track it might be a lightning start, a perfect overtake, or the ultimate goal - the top step of the podium.

But sometimes the pendulum swings the other way. It rains, traffic gets in the way, something breaks. For the racer, it could be mechanical frustrations, or a simple mistake with consequences that echo through the meeting. At the grassroots level, these troughs are even more personal - while the MotoGP racer has a small army to back them up, for the club racer a minor problem can affect their whole race meeting, and to add insult to injury hit them in the wallet as well.

Ride far enough and hard enough, and you stand a good chance of experiencing all this and more in a few days...(read more)

itchy feet

(April 2008)

"I'm sorry honey but I've got my sea legs again, I stand on dry land for a minute and I feel sick and then, I have to start moving again"

Frank Turner

Spring is coming, the weather's getting warmer, and my feet are getting itchy. I've been stood still too long...(read more)