5 Years

Next Monday will be 5 years since I got to London. I didn't expect to be on this muddy island for 5 years but I've learned a lot: how to look busy when you're not, how not to do things, how to be happy with mediocrity, and many other useful approaches that will assist me in going nowhere in life and being happy with it.

In celebration of this milestone I have decided to engage in the national sport (drinking inside on days ending in 'Y'). But because I recently scored 6 out of 7 in a melbourne quiz that Dad gave me I will put a decidedly Australian slant on it and drink outside. Maybe somewhere nice with some food...

So for the sake of entertainment (not information, I assure you) I decided to check the weather. Yahoo weather on my phone says Saturday will be 17 and partly cloudy, BBC Breakfast told Megs some sunshine and 19, and Todd's phone suggests an umbrella will be useful. I COULD take a chance and make plans for a fantastic day out but 'effort' and 'risk' are not in the British vocabulary...

Meh, who wants to drink inside with me on Saturday evening to celebrate me sitting around for 5 years?

Red Bull Cliff Diving

I've been wanting to go and watch this event for years and, like all other events I've been too lazy to go see, my final year in Europe is gonna have to be it.


I think I'll hit La Rochelle because it's closest, I've been meaning to check it out, and they jump from the harbour tower which looks cool. The Ukraine, however, could be interesting...

Red Bull Cliff Diving

Campag Heritage Thermo Jacket

I've never done a product review on this blog... and I'm not going to start now. But on Saturday I rode outside for the first time in months and am so glad that I had the Campagnolo Heritage Thermo TXN jacket.
It's a windproof jacket that blocked out the -3 degree windchill perfectly.

I was looking for something that was a little brighter but the red front and reflective stripe on the back make this jacket the best of a bad bunch when it comes to being seen by cars. It doesn't have underarm zips which was a concern when trying it on but the small vents it does have work a treat. My body temperature usually swings a lot while training but I was consistently comfortable in this for the whole ride. Even as my heart rate sat around 160bpm for 15 minutes while climbing I was still not sweating.

Best cycling clothing I've ever bought.

I think I just wrote a product review...

You learn something new each day

I've just been informed that most weather forecasting bureaus admit that their forecasting accuracy is reduced by 10% for each day in advance, falling from 98%. The 10% reduction I can understand but the 98% accuracy of tomorrow's weather I would dispute!






Yesterday Yahoo! were suggesting 8 degrees and partly cloudy yet today they suggest 5 and partly cloudy. Unfortunately for them it is currently 4 and overcast. A far cry from the 9 and sunny they guessed on Monday and an even further cry from the 33 and sunny I was hoping for...

So that concludes this tediously useless study. Don't think I'll do that again...

Thanks to Clark I learned something else last week: when an electrical surge goes through an old building with galvanized pipes, it turns all the calcium build ups into hydrocarbon. Thus your drinking water is grot.

Don't say this blog isn't educational.

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I'm riding, you can watch some riding

While I'm out battling with potholes, wind, rain, cold temperatures, bad drivers and roads that go nowhere you can sit back and watch a vid by Chris Akrigg who won the Red Bull mini-drome comp in January.

A Hill in Spain from chris akrigg on Vimeo.

My riding isn't quite to that standard.

Lack of funding

Well, this has been the most boring study ever...



Sunday's forecast has remained consistent. It would have been better to follow Saturday's forecast because it has gone from partly cloudy and 9 to raining and 8. So like all good Government funded studies I'm going to shift the focus mid-way through and cite a lack of funding.

Plus I'm angry it's gonna rain on my first outdoor training ride for months...

Mum and Dad just came back from Perth:



Can't even remember what that feels like!

Oh well, I'm going riding!

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Double your nerd analysis!

Oops, took yesterday's weather screen print but forgot to upload it for nerd analysis... I know you're all hanging to see what Yahoo's Sunday guess is, so here was yesterday's:



Still 6 and partly cloudy... Maybe this is the real thing.

Let's see today's. Contestant number 3, come on out:



Well. There's some consistency I wasn't expecting. Today has effectively burried the street cred I thought this incredibly detailed study would attract.

Alas, it's not Sunday yet.

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Six and partly cloudy

Sunday 6 and partly cloudy now.



It's changed already and we're still 4 days out from this possibly glorious day. Anyone got any predictions (that will stay constant)???

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Consistent weather reports?

I'm going to get all nerdy on you until Sunday and do some analysis on Yahoo's weather reports.

Yahoo! are suggesting that Sunday's weather will be sunny with a top of 8 degrees. Snowy! is suggesting that, although 8 degrees is a fair guess for this time of year, their predictions will change almost daily until settling on something on Saturday which will ultimately end up wrong.

So I have decided to take a screen shot of Yahoo! Weather each morning to see how Sunday's forecast changes. (What? I don't have anything else to write about...)

Here is today's screen shot- 5 days out, sunny and 8 degrees.



I wonder how long until Yahoo! do their wonderfully vague sun-with-rain-coming-out-of-it icon...


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