Farewell My Summer Love...

The cold winds of winter howled through my heart and I knew it was time. She'd been a part of my life for only a matter of months but already she'd changed me... made me a better man.

So I hung her up on the wall...

Eh?

Sure I did... Hung her up on the wall, not to be removed until Spring 2009. Yes, saturday afternoon saw me doing my 'domestics' in the bike department. I bagged up my HED JET race wheels, put the training wheels on my beloved Cervelo P2C, cleaned the frame, oiled the chain, deflated the tyres and placed her gently on one of my bike racks, where she'll stay until the weather perks up next year.

But every cloud has a silver lining and I took down my Specialized Allez Road bike and prepared it (notice no gender for the second favourite !) for winter. My racing tyres were finally discarded to be replaced with Contintental Winter Tyres. The clip on tri bars came off and the whole bike was cleaned and oiled ready for a winter of hard yards. I took the 'Spesh' out for a spin and have to say it was good to be on it again. I'm quite looking forward to having a dedicated road bike again rather than the time trial bike.

Anyway, I guess I'm prepared for winter.

So... apologies for last week. Frankly I just wasn't in the mood. I was feeling a little grumpy and tired, having begun to increase my road mileage and the last thing I wanted to do was type out a blog. And ... hey... it's not compulsory. So I didn't.

But I feel refreshed and invigourated this week and - people - 'tis good to be back with you. What have I been up to the last couple of weeks in terms of training? Well, I've certainly been running. Most days I've been on the road doing no less than 6 miles. I'm very comfortable over 12 miles now and have been rattling a few of those babies off. Longest has been a 15 miler which was, frankly, tough. But I'm going to stick at it and - though I think 3:30 at Luton might be a tall order - will see what the day brings. I've still got five weeks or so of training so I'm hoping my previous fitness will click in at some point.

I've also been mountain biking with my mate Colin. Last Tuesday saw a two hour ride over and around Whipsnade and Dunstable Downs, finishing on Ivinghoe Beacon with Colin, Alex and Jo. Top riding and great for those bike handling skills.

I've been knuckling down on my film script, getting a handle on the story and working through some scenarios with my friend and fellow script writer, Jonny Kurzman. Jonny would be the first to say he's no Ironman but he's the Mark Allen of scriptwriting and his ideas help a lot.

In fact it's good to have someone to bounce ideas off. Alex was a great sounding board for my previous idea which - as detailed in a previous post - is currently resting on a shelf, much like my beloved Cervelo.

Other news? Well, we've changed Fiona's car which, after seven years I think she was long overdue for. We now have another BMW in the family - this time a 1 series. We also have a wonderfully reliable Volkswagen Golf to sell so - if anyone out there is looking - you can find details here.

Erin and I chilled yesterday and watched a movie - GONE BABY GONE - which is Ben Affleck's directorial debut. If you like your movies dark and dangerous, I can thoroughly recommend. I was mucho impressedo by Mr Affleck's work. The reason we were chilling together without Fi and Alice was that Alice and her best mate Molly were at the preliminary auditions for BRITAIN'S GOT TALENT in London's Covent Garden. Both of my girls are very artistic and theatrical (frankly, we're just not a maths kind of family) and whilst Erin is an extremely talented actress, Alice is a full on, force of nature showman. Or showwoman. Whatever, she and Molly formed a singing duet called 'Blonde Ambition' and sang Leonard Cohen's 'Hallelujah' for a producer-type. Watch this space for news of their progress. Or not, as the case may be.

You tried hard on the last film quote and, frankly, I'm disappointed. Disappointed you didn't recognise one of the most touching quotes from one of the funniest movies ever made...

"You like boats, but not the ocean. You go to a lake in the summer with your family up in the mountains. There's a long wooden dock and a boathouse with boards missing from the roof, and a place you used to crawl underneath to be alone. You're a sucker for French poetry and rhinestones. You're very generous. You're kind to strangers and children, and when you stand in the snow you look like an angel."

bears repetition. It was, of course, spoken by BILL MURRAY'S character, PHIL CONNORS, to RITA played by ANDIE McDOWELL in the magnificent GROUNDHOG DAY.

Okay... take a peek at this and see if you know where it comes from...

"Y'know, this was supposed to be my weekend off, but noooo. You got me out here draggin' your heavy ass through the burnin' desert with your dreadlocks stickin' out the back of my parachute. You gotta come down here with an attitude, actin' all big and bad... "

Well done to Boothy for completing the World Championships at Ironman Hawaii over a week or go. It sounded like a long, hard day at the office. I've yet to chat to him about it as he's still away recovering.

Well done also, to Liverpool FC, at last showing the character I've been waiting for for eighteen years. We may not win the title this year but at last we have a team that knows how important it is to the fans.

Have a good week, people...