Archive for the ‘Sport’ Category

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »

Four wheels better than two

Sunday, September 26th, 2010

875Ever since we borrowed the Broderick’s cycle chariot back at Easter we’ve been umming and ahhing about getting one ourselves. The big question was, given that prices range from around £60 to £800, how much would we actually use it? Finally caved in last week and bought a Phillips Cleveland on eBay last week for £90 (about half price). It has the benefit of having a hard base but no fancy suspension or add-ons to turn it in to a running buggy or such-like. We picked it up yesterday and took it for a quick spin around the cycleways of Valley Park. The attachment to the bike isn’t as robust as the axle hitch on the Chariot as it just clamps on to the frame. It’s a fine line between attaching it far enough forward that the frame is thick enough and having it not catch on my heel.

More of an issue was the sibling rivalry going on in the back. At one point Duncan was banging Emma over the head with a spade (of the bucket and spade variety I hasten to add! Today Emma insisted that I took her to the supermarket in the trailer (and that Duncan didn’t come.) In the end it was just as well that Duncan wasn’t there as we got a bit carried away with the shopping. Thankfully there aren’t too many hills on the way home!

All things considered, I think it was a good move. The trailer makes less difference to cycling than having a seat on the back and I’m sure Duncan will appreciate it for his ride to nursery when the weather takes a turn for the worse. Most importantly, it means one of us can take both the kids out (providing they learn to get on a bit better!).

Posted in Cycling, Family | 1 Comment »

Pond numbering

Thursday, September 23rd, 2010

Unlike last week, it was a lovely evening for a run on Tuesday. As usual I stayed out of the discussion about where we would go but it seemed like Neil and Peter had come to some agreement as to where we would run from Rufus Stone. That didn’t stop us ending up doing two different runs! It all seemed to be down to what you consider to be the forward direction for the Six Ponds run from Fritham. Both Neil and Peter were heading for pond number two but Peter was numbering clockwise (Longcross Pond) and Neil was numbering anti-clockwise (Cadman’s Pool). You can work out from the track below who I was following!

(more…)

Posted in Running | 3 Comments »

Highland Hash

Wednesday, September 15th, 2010

Now that Sunday’s courses are up on RouteGadget, the true horror of my run is available for all to see. My first problem was that I was still in “standing in a sunny field collecting car parking money” mode when I started (it had been a last minute reprieve which meant I was rushing to get out so that Christine could have a run afterwards). Three was where things started to go wrong as I just failed to pay attention to the direction I left two in and then tried desperately to make the ground fit the map around where I wanted to be.

(more…)

Posted in Family, Orienteering | 1 Comment »

Which two underpasses?

Tuesday, September 14th, 2010

Holiday time must be over as numbers had returned to normal for tonight’s run despite the inclement weather. The run was a bit fragmented and there seemed to be a bit of confusion about exactly which two underpasses we were going through as a consequence of which I certainly ended up further west than the one I was intending to use. Thankfully everyone made it back though. Mike had put in a good word for us at the pub and consequently the speed of service was greatly improved!

(more…)

Posted in Running | 3 Comments »

Testing Way

Saturday, September 11th, 2010

On Thursday night Christine, then Emma, then I, had been sick. Although Emma bounced back very quickly, Christine and I had spent Friday recovering and it was therefore with some trepidation that we set off for today’s Test Way Relay. Christine was running first leg for the Southampton Orienteering Club team, starting at Inkpen Beacon. As they had only two women in the team they didn’t qualify as a mixed team and hence she set off with around 15 men (the womens and mixed teams starting an hour earlier). It therefore wasn’t particularly surprising that she came in to the changeover in last place.

(more…)

Posted in Family, Running | 2 Comments »

Three cricket pitches

Friday, September 10th, 2010

With September upon us the venue for Tuesday’s run moved to Rufus Stone and, as is tradition, we made the most of what light remains by doing the three cricket pitches run. I was grateful that Ian M led the run as, quite frankly, I have no idea where I’m going on this route. The Sir Walter Tyrell was thankfully serving beer on this occasion although it did take a prohibitevly long time to get served.

(more…)

Posted in Running | Comments Off on Three cricket pitches

Sprint finish on the beach

Sunday, September 5th, 2010

872Yesterday we headed down to the coast for the annual Dorset Coast Path Relay. We arrived at Lulworth Cove a couple of hours early so that the kids could expend a bit of energy before being bundled in and out of the car for the rest of the day. We didn’t have a particularly peaceful lunch on the beach as Emma was scared by the crashing waves and Duncan just wanted to crawl in to them!

(more…)

Posted in Family, Running | 2 Comments »

Where have all the runners gone?

Tuesday, August 31st, 2010

Having taken a detour to avoid signed congestion on the M27, I arrived at Wilverley 5 minutes late for tonight’s run. Scanning the horizon revealed no likely looking group of runners. It was at this point that I realised I only recognised one of the cars in the car park. Hopeful that others may have been similarly delayed, I decided to wait a little longer. Thankfully I was proved right and got to do a slightly shorter run that usual with Darren and Alex. Ian had disappeared by the time we got back but we managed to get a swift half in at the pub before the others had to head off.

(more…)

Posted in Running | Comments Off on Where have all the runners gone?

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »