This shows the route I took on a Sunday bike ride recently. What I wanted to do (yellow) what I did (red). The hill defeated me, and will do again, but I will win! I have also included the approximate gradiant of the section I did do in the insert box. I have a lot of respect for the tour de France people. (I looked at a map when I got back, and from what I can recall from reading gradients in boy scouts the route does actually go downhill about 200 meters after I stopped. bummer.
The sweet reward for nearly dying on a switchback being watched only by goats is that you get to go down what you have just come up. I clocked 35.8 MPH on one stretch coming back! I did have my helmet on, of course.
Sunday, February 26, 2006
After dinner, christmas day, mmm, full.
Replete and well rested we all relax chez Charlie, risotto a la Charlie and Ben, and a very nice glass of wine. Mmm. We ended our New York leg of the trip soon after this. It was fantastic fun, and we were incredibly well hosted.
The view from Kris's hotel room.
This doesent really capture it well but does go to show that the Gotham of fiction and imagination is not very far away at all.
Outside St Patricks, with Ben, Charlie, Will, Buffy and Kris.
Outside ST Patricks, with Ben, Charlie, Will, Buffy and Kris.
Originally uploaded by Ben from England.
Christmas seemed to last about three hours in New York, when we went in the streets were empty and a lovley atmosphere pervaded the streets, by the time we had emerged and made our way to the Blue Fin restaurant on Times Square for Brunch the streets were once again hectic with life. We Joind Charlies room mate and his girlfriend for Brunch. And had a wonderful breakfast, I also hear the bar staff are very good at Blue Fin.
New York, near Grand Central
I think this was on our way from or to Carneigie Hall to see the New York strings perform some classical music. I think we all enjoyed it, I don't usually enjoy live music, but Classical is the clear exception, its the one music that recording gets in the way of, for most other types of music the recording process enhances the music, but Classical music the tapes and microphones just get in the way. Hearing it live was spectacular, the performers (very, very young people) and their instruments filling the hall with their wonderful sound. Once again very moving. We all felt a bit overawed by the youth of the players they were between something like 17 and 21, obviously they have all peaked way too early, and hopefully can look forward to a middle age of faded glory, while I have yet to reach my peak, and unlike some of those people I will be able to toast my achievements with a drink!
Moma, new York. (verdict: transcendant)
Back to New York, I'll finish these now and stop the coffee orientated distractions, apologies. Buffy and I went to the MOMA, in New York, recently re-opened. It's a world class museum, with some of the truly great art in the world. It has a lot of those pieces that art students study through books and videos and slides but rarely get to actually see, or be next to, to stand where the artist stood and see what they saw, it was a very moving experiance, one I was greatful to share with Buffy, It's one of the few things I am truly passionate about, the ability for art to communicate things about this life we lead in a way few other things can.
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
water water everywhere
My company is gracious enough to provide us all with free coffee, very good free coffee, enough for a couple of cups a day. which I have started enjoying, really enjoying. The daily espresso, with a little milk in the morning, and black with brown cane sugar in the afternoon as is the custom, has become a part of my routine. Today though I ran out of capsuals. the ordering process has been delayed this month, no ones fault I guess, but it menas there will be two or three days without much coffe in the office.
Favours are called, promises made and the normally well oiled machine starts to creak a little. In the UK I was above this petty dependancy, I supplied my own constantly flowing stream of herbal and fruit teas and I thought myself very special. Here its a different story, coffee is a wheel around which the office turns, the put-put of the espresso, sorry Nespresso machine is the soundtrack to the first 1.5 hours of the day, again at 11, once after lunch and around 4pm. gathering outside for coffe is a social break, enjoyed more and more by me, and in French plus en plus.
Buffy has a Nespresso machine that she keeps at my house, I use it every moring, for a milky steaming frotthed cup of joe in the morning while I read what ever is one the kitchen table and wake up to the world that day. We have to order pods for this machine, not often, and they are reasonably priced, and this time they were delivered to my office, and this picture is of them sitting on my desk, waiting to be opened at home and poured in all their wonderful colours into the waiting bowl on the window sil.
What a shame then, that I am unable to use these pods destined for my normal Nespresso machine in the Nespresso machine at work, one looks like a flying saucer, and is maed of plastic, and the other is the shape of a small tin flowerpot. They both contain coffee, lovley grounds of many flavours, from pointless decaffinato, to strong ristretto. but here I sit, tired, edgy and brewing a headache, unable to use the coffee I have in the machine that is not mine. I am more and more tempted, but the person that breaks the coffee machine is doomed. The whys and wherefores are wise I am sure, but it does not help me. marooned on a cloud without the focus of that mind bending drug called caffine. could I be addicted?
Favours are called, promises made and the normally well oiled machine starts to creak a little. In the UK I was above this petty dependancy, I supplied my own constantly flowing stream of herbal and fruit teas and I thought myself very special. Here its a different story, coffee is a wheel around which the office turns, the put-put of the espresso, sorry Nespresso machine is the soundtrack to the first 1.5 hours of the day, again at 11, once after lunch and around 4pm. gathering outside for coffe is a social break, enjoyed more and more by me, and in French plus en plus.
Buffy has a Nespresso machine that she keeps at my house, I use it every moring, for a milky steaming frotthed cup of joe in the morning while I read what ever is one the kitchen table and wake up to the world that day. We have to order pods for this machine, not often, and they are reasonably priced, and this time they were delivered to my office, and this picture is of them sitting on my desk, waiting to be opened at home and poured in all their wonderful colours into the waiting bowl on the window sil.
What a shame then, that I am unable to use these pods destined for my normal Nespresso machine in the Nespresso machine at work, one looks like a flying saucer, and is maed of plastic, and the other is the shape of a small tin flowerpot. They both contain coffee, lovley grounds of many flavours, from pointless decaffinato, to strong ristretto. but here I sit, tired, edgy and brewing a headache, unable to use the coffee I have in the machine that is not mine. I am more and more tempted, but the person that breaks the coffee machine is doomed. The whys and wherefores are wise I am sure, but it does not help me. marooned on a cloud without the focus of that mind bending drug called caffine. could I be addicted?
Thursday, February 02, 2006
lunette re-looking!
new glasses, they mean so much to me I am inflicting them on the world. I like the construction, not sure about the colour, but they make my eyebrows a more prominent feature, instead of trying to hide them, they are a good width and fit well, I've only had a few problems with the nose clips in the more active phases of life, student/school/thug so should not be a problme now the most active thing I do is bend down. so, what do you think?
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