This place seems to be on a bit of an introspective downer at the moment – I blame the bloody awful weather, lack of sunshine and constant drip, drip, drip of bad news and negative vibes in the media.

Just to redress the balance, here's some of the things that I'm currently enjoying or looking forward to:

Being old enough not to care what I look like or what anyone else thinks about me.

Buying a house and moving in with my partner.

The Archers.

Attempting to eat my own bodyweight in mince pies over the next month or so.

As I get older, winter doesn't seem to last as long as it used to, but I really, really enjoy the rest of the year more.

Some proper road riding over the winter and getting fitter for spring.

The new bright green waterproof jacket I'm getting for Christmas.

Seeing my mates face when I show him the pictures I took of him playing bass live on stage last night with his childhood hero.

Got the new Pratchett book, but not started it yet.

Never having to read another Harry Potter.

Morrissey on Desert Island Discs tomorrow.

Half Man Half Biscuit in Sheffield next week.

Hit The North.

"I'm sorry I haven't a clue" is back!

Modern dentistry.

Like many people, I struggle to focus on the positive at this time of year, but it's there if you look for it……

What about you lot? Must be something nice happening to someone out there!

Being old enough not to care what I look like or what anyone else thinks about me.

+1

Reason to be cheerful: It's 10am, it's 29c. It's getting warmer and I'm waiting on a mate to pick me up so we can go riding. It's meant to be 34c + today too so he better turn up as I'd hate it to be too hot to ride and have to nip to the beach instead.

Mud? What's that? :p

Cheers aphex. im sat in listening to rain pour down…

I am shivering, unable to get warm, coughing fits that make me want to puke and pretty dizzy and generally feverish.
I am however going to become a dad in the new year for the first time, ably assisted by my wife, whom I love dearly.
I am starting to get a grip on my work, which had been kind of getting me down and my shoulder rehabilitation looks like it could go pretty well.
Oh, and on top of that, it may not have been settling much, but it was snowing on my way home tonight!
Smile? I think I just might 🙂

edit- oh, and I just found out "I'm sorry I haven't a clue" is back!

MooMonkey…

Well, I've been up since 8 waiting. Got a text half an hour ago saying they just got up…And the shitzu/maltese dog we're dog-sitting has just crapped in the lounge.

Better? 😉

I'm not afflicted by ginger hair. That always makes me happy.

" IT'S CHRISTMAS " 🙄
Turkey, stuffing, chocs, puds, beer, beer, beer, crimbo bike gifts, beer ! 😆

I finish work on the 18th for over 2 weeks off with the family, lovely!!

1. I live with the most amazing girl who thinks the same about me
2. …in a beautiful apartment
3. …on the south coast of Spain
4. ..where the trails are dry and technical
5. …and I love my job, sitting at a desk that overlooks a Mediterranean plaza

Cake

Well over here in exotic Cambridgeshire…

Clear blue sky, a few patches of thin cloud

… It's stopped raining.

… I'm about to have a second cup of tea

… then go for a ride.

Living the dream!

I like Winter

My birthday
Baby Jesus's birthday
Night out planned with my mates
2 weeks off over Christmas
New house in January
Messing about with my kids
Embracing the filth after a couple of months off
Tod CX, HtN
Bumping into Mr & MrsSpanner out on the trails
Watching "The Gruffalo" on Christmas Day

OK, so it's just started raining. Might need a third cup of tea before I can go out.

I'm off next week and I've a different ride planned for everyday (2 on Wednesday) and I'm one of those riders who doesn't give a crap about what the weathers like…. 🙂

Pretty barmaids.

I def agree about the not caring what other people think about your looks, I used to be really self concious having a pretty big hooter and matching ears!! But then I realised if someone else dont like em thats there problem not mine, and hey I can get sky for free 😉

being stuck in on a sunday playing with the kids

weekends away riding in scotland grrrrrrrrrreat!

thursday night riding

driving my volvo S60

I have a week of work.

Its not raining (well not here, not yet)

I'm in the preliminary/planning stages for another US/Colorado trip next summer (and that has to be better than the finger poppin last time…)

😀

Health service glasses
Gigolos and brasses
round or skinny bottoms

Take your mum to paris
lighting up the chalice
wee willy harris

Bantu Stephen Biko, listening to Rico
Harpo, Groucho, Chico

Cheddar cheese and pickle, the Vincent motorsickle
Slap and tickle
Woody Allen, Dali, Dimitri and Pasquale
balabalabala and Volare

Something nice to study, phoning up a buddy
Being in my nuddy
Saying hokey-dokey, singalonga Smokey
Coming out of chokey

Ooh, I like this thread after the other suicidey ones!

At the start of this week my sister turned up on my doorstep, out of the blue. I hadn't seen her since June as she lives overseas. That means this year is already the best Christmas I've had in a long time.

Listening to I'm sorry I havent a clue – thanks rusty and tracker
surviving my new business for a year when no one is spending money.
Starting my garden qualification in January
rowing in 17 degrees sunshine yesterday
having fine red wine on my doorstep

Getting out on the bike 5 days a week
Living in a new city and meeting loads of great new people
Amazing placement job

And the girl next door

Loads of coursework for Monday to do…

But after-nice sleep! Road riding, in the wet-improves your handling skills and is a blast when you don't become a cropper!

Less risk of skin cancer, no flies or insects.

Winter postcard images,

Green trees in winter while other trees look like sculptures without leaves.

No such thing as bad weather but badly dressed bikes and people!

Winter is great when it's cosy inside and you're reading or chilling to music.

Britain has tons of places and things to do in Winter!

Had a morning in bed with my gf.

Went for a muddy ride.

All I can smell now is the sunday lunch. Mmmmmmmm

i am unable to ride my bike as i have a beast of an injury (3 months and counting) so the fact that its pish makes me happy.

Just got back from a "damp" ride in the Peaks. Despite the grim weather seven of us went out to celebrate my birthday. Retired to The Crag for a pint and a warm by the fire. Life's great.

wife is 13 weeks pregnant!

Just taken our 6 month old twins for a walk and got p*ss wet through but had a lovely time making up alternative nursery rhymes as we walked (like Old MacDonald had a farm which was laid fallow whilst he got E eye, ee eye ohh U Subsidies).

And Leeds have Manuu in the next round of the FA Cup assuming we get by Kettering in the replay.

🙂

Good ride this morning despite the weather.

Afternoon on the sofa drawing with the kids.

Just had a pork roast with all the trimmings which I haven't had in ages was very nice.

Sitting in front of the fire with book and beer = I'm contented.

Tough one for me as I have been diagnosed with depression a couple of weeks ago. It's not all bad though as I told the doc that I still enjoyed riding, and now I have to make sure I go twice a week at least!
I couldn't go this weekend though because I bent the H spring on my Juicys… but posted on here and Fuzzyfelt is sending me one for free. (I can't thank him enough)
So cycling my bike for me! and the generosity of STW forumites.

Hating everything to do with bikes 6 months ago,new lease of life/acceptance of the fact I will be never have the sort of skill I would like.Anyway, just put air in shocks for a trip up to the old Queens road near Dunkeld,going to do the route in the Andy Mac book, feel like a wee boy going on holiday. Thank goodness for school half term!Taking the Paramo walking jacket rather than a cycling layer mind!

So many things!
My lovely wife,
rough and tumble with my two boys,
being warm inside when its raining and cold outside,
getting my bike ready for the Konamashup next weekend,
accepting its going to be muddy and riding my bike anyway,
Christmas on the way,
Scheming for a possible move overseas,
work is going OK,
West Ham actually won for once,
Just made nice past sauce for dinner with bacon and chilli's
Nice glass of red… maybe a crisp? 😀

Half Man Half Biscuit in Sheffield next week.

You lucky sod. They're brilliant live. Seen them quite a few times up in Scotland. Have a great gig.

I fitted some skirting board today which was rather tricky as it had to be shaped to fit round a soil pipe and round some other pipes. Highly satisfying bit of DIY when you look back at your handywork and see a nice tidy job 🙂

Other than non-bike related things which are mostly nice (happily married, work being okay, generally being in an okay financial position, living somewhere great, house is well supplied with cake and cheese), I went riding this morning, I went riding on Friday, I went riding on Thursday, I went riding on Wednesday, Tuesday, Monday, last Sunday, last Saturday. I've done 6150km this year so far, and I get to commute 30 miles tomorrow too, on a lovely road ride over Derbyshire hills (and a little bit of not so pretty Nottinghamshire riding, but that's over pretty quick, and I get to play with traffic on that section). Maybe one day this week I will manage the off road commute (20 miles each way, about 2 miles on roads), although that depends a bit on how busy I am at work.

Even this morning's mountain bike ride was fun, I got soaked, covered in mud, fell off and cut myself, wussed out of stuff I knew I could ride easy in the dry, rode through a flood, but somehow it was still a really fun ride. And I saw Highland Cattle, which always make me laugh. Oh and yesterday I saw Alpacas, how awesome are they?

Best of all, neither the bike or me are broken, so I don't have to mend anything before I can go riding again. I even have a decent nightriding torch this year (Dealextreme P7 torch), no faffing with mountain bike light systems is an absolute bonus, makes for really quick night ride preparation, I can get out and ride 6 or so miles of nice rocky trails and be back in just over an hour including getting the bike & lights out, so I can nightride even if I don't have a whole evening to spare.

Oh and the weather has been fantastic this autumn until this last week, so it is only now that I'm having to ride in slippy mud (hence the fall this morning), pretty much in December.

Joe

I was made redundant about a fortnight ago but I'm hopefull about getting another job.
I've been out riding as well as applying for jobs over the last few weeks, on my MTB and road bike.
I went out on a road ride this morning with a good mate of mine who has been diagnosed with Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, he was a bloody good cyclist, LEJOG, the Fred and The Dragon last year as well as MTB races but for the last 6 months this guy could barely walk across the room without getting out of breath. He has about 18 months on the drugs that he's taking before he needs a lung transplant. But this morning he rode with us to the usual Sunday coffee stop, it took us longer than usual, he had to stop 3 times to get his breath back. All that effort paid off, it was great to be sitting there eating cake, drinking coffee and talking shit like we used to.

What a great day, I admire his determination and wouldn't have missed this ride for anything, though on the way back when it was pissing down and he was getting a lift back with another friend, they did shout and wave as they passed.

Life isn't all bad.

I've got the week off so I'm pretty cheerful. Gonna ride lots and drink coffee for the next few days, then off to Rome on thursday for a long weekend 8)

2retro4u
Marin County, Cali

I'll be 64 in a couple of weeks, and there are still a lot of younger people I can drop on the climb as well as on the descent. I have some sweet bikes and a great place to ride them. That seems like a good reason to be happy.

Of course, the percentage of riders who pass ME seems to be growing. When it reaches 100%, I guess I'll hang 'em up.

Repack- If you ever hang 'em up I will do to. Never say die!

PS love your work.

I managed my first (almost) pain free run after falling off my bike 3 weeks ago. It felt great!