Britains Got Tallent

Britains Got Tallent finally has something beyond the usual singers or dancers.  Check this guy out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6tJenFEEoA

Not as good as Danny Mac, but not bad either.

Luck

Britains Got Tallent

This guy shows a great deal of potential.  May even give Danny Mac a run for his money.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6tJenFEEoA

Enjoy

Luck

Bike vs Car

I found this one on my many travels.  It is a laugh to have proven what we knew all along.  Bikes are best (Especially when riden by an Atherton).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgTCpoPMIcM&feature=related
Enjoy

Favourate biking videos

OK, so what are my favourate cycling videos?

The first one is easy. Danny Mac. If you have not seen this guy, then prepare to be amazed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpEDtHjlM-U

Or you might want his latest video:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cj6ho1-G6tw

This is a really fun video, if you fancy hitting the slopes this winter:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWrZWE53ESg&feature=share

If you haven't seen one of these, the language is a bit harsh, but it is worth sticking with:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_TGH7vBC2nw

Anyway, if you have favourates of your own, let me know.

Luck

Cannock Chase

This weekend I went to Cannock to try out the new extension to the "Follow the Dog" route. Not bad. Some nice hills and some very fast track. I am not sure about all of the rock gardens that have suddenly sprung up. However, the Werewolf run is quite fun. Lots of undulating banks. Another thing that they have put in is high banked burms, so tha you can wall of death your way around the trail.

It is a matter of course that I went over the bars twice, but that is what trail centres are about. Unfortunately, I managed to get a couple of scrateches on my new bike. Boo. But it had to happen some time. A bit of model enamel paint and it should be as good as new. I do, however, need to work on my hills and speed. I am still too slow. But overall an enjoyable day.

One interesting thing. I lost my phone while out on the trail. Quite a nice touchscreen. Martyn and Steve rode back over the trails to see if we could find it, but no luck. When I got home, somebody in Coventry had phoned to say that they had found it. Picked it up an hour later. Aren't we mountain bikers a nice bunch?

So overall, I would rate the Chase, other than a few rock reatures. Some people, including the guy who found my phone, struggled with it, but other than that it was worth the petrol. Try it.

http://www.chasetrails.co.uk/xc.php

Luck

Tattoo

My wife and I have been watching programs like Miami Ink for some time. Her Grandmother recently died and one of the things that she wanted to get with the inheratence was a tattoo. This is a good way to remember somebody. It doesn't have to be a memorial tattoo or even that persons favourate thing. It just needs to be something that will help you remember the person by. She chose a water dragon.

After months of searching she eventually found the artist who would do her tattoo. The art form has moved on from dancing girl outlines and ships anchors. Now you can get all sorts of art drawn directly onto your skin. These are graphic artists. You can get portraits, cartoons, lettering or abstract designs.

However, if you hire a traditional artist to paint you a picture, if you don't like it you don't have to buy it or if you grow to dislike it, you can take it off of your wall. With tattoos it is different. Once on it is on. So find your artist with care. Look at his work. Look at the stencil. You can cancel at any time. One artist sent a couple to stencils via e-mail. They were not what she wanted.

She found the artist that would give her a one off tattoo, not a picture from a book, but an original designed Japanese water dragon, in the colours that she wants, in the style that she wanted. This meant that, in order to get what she wanted, it would cost a fair amount of money and a trip to London for the day.

Today she got the outline done and the first colour, green. She will go back for a second 2 hr sitting to get it finished. The artist is also thinking of adding flowers. She is very happy with the artwork. The only drawback is that it hurt like hell, but she got cuedos for not screaming, crying, or changing her mind. Anyway, I have posted some of the photos of her back. I is slightly bigger than she thought, but still loves it.

Alex

I Picked Up the New Bike

A production of epic proportions, years in the making, I have finally picked up my new bike. Well, when I say years, I probably only mean November of last year. However, it felt like years.

The saga started some months again when I came into some money which, due to legal reasons, would take some time to get to me. That said, I started bike hunting straight away. This involved looking in magazines and talking to other riders, notably club members. I eventually arranged a test ride day at Grapham water. For the cost of a single rental bike I arranged a fleet of five bikes to try out. There were prose and cons to each of the bikes that I rode, but the one that gave me a real grin factor was the Anthem X2. So when the money arrived in May and after some hagling on extras, the order was placed with Pitsford cycles.

I dare say that, using Podium Points from an online supplier I could have gotten more googars, but Pitsford is my local bike shop. I know the mechanics and trust them to set up the bike. I get two free services and I still get some extras. I was not disapointed. The only downside was a wait of upto 8 weeks. Great bike, worth the wait. However, I only had to wait for three.

Before picking up the bike I went around to the local DIY store and picked up some pipe cladding. My worry was that the metal of my bike rack would damage the frame and so, gaff tape and craft knife in hand, I set to the pipe cladding and attached it to the bike rack so that at no point would metal grate or bash against metal.

I then went to pick up the bike. I had my daughter for the day, so decided that, rather than just picking up the bike, we would take it for a quick lap of the reserviour with my daughter on her bike. I arrived at Pitsford an got my goodies. They then gave me a comprehensive lesson on how to set up the air shock and forks, as well as the brake adjustment etc. We then set off around the lake to break in my steed.

One of the things about the Anthem is that it is a fast bike. Normally, I could just peddle slower than normal to ride with my daughter. However, the Anthem was having none of it. It wanted to be off racing the lower life forms and shredding single track. I had to dump a lot of gears in order to ride at Hana's speed, but we had a pleasant ride, complete with ice cream and Jelly Babies.

I am going on a Dads ride at Stanwick tommorow, so the Anthem is going to be a bit of an overkill. But who cares. I am looking forward to my ride with James on Tuesday, but I am really looking forward to Wednesdays club ride, when I am going to make some of the faster riders eat my dust. (Evil laugh time.)

For the moment the bike is safely in the kitchen, put away for the night. I had to take a kitchen photo anyway, since it is an MBR tradition. So here you are MBR forum, the White Goods Shot.

Luck