Fun!

I have got SPD pedals on my Birdy now and it's like having a new bike! My splendid local bike shop fitted my cheapo eBay pedals for me, adjusted them and told me how to use them and I walked to the local park feeling like someone had just taken off my stabilisers for the first time. But actually, they're fine. It's not so different to having toeclips, so long as you remember to rotate out your heel to free your foot. But the difference!

A good bike feels like part of you. Now, it feels like I'm part of the bike - we're a single connected whole. It's remarkable. Look out for me, sweaty and grinning, at the Ton tomorrow night!

(If you're free, it's downstairs at the Melton Mowbray on Holborn.)

So after dumping my stuff at the house, I went off for a quick ride of ¾hr or so, a lap of Mitcham Common by the surrounding roads - down through Pollards Hill to near Thornton Heath, across the bottom on the edge of Croydon, then back up the A236. Coming up there, I was following some large chav bloke, no shirt, wobbling around on a mountain bike while swigging soft drink from a bottle. When he'd finished it, he lobbed it into the grass of the common. As I accelerated past him, I shouted over my shoulder FIND A BIN NEXT TIME!

Of course, I then get stopped at the next lights, and he comes charging up, drops his bike in my path and starts shouting abuse in my face. Who the fsck am I to tell him how to behave? He can throw what he wants wherever he wants. It's his countryside too. I stay calm, don't swear, tell him to act responsibly and grow up, but he gets more and more agitated - clearly psyching himself up to attack me. So I remounted and pedalled off at speed.

Gah.

Games

Joy with confrontational pikeys follows last weekend's activities. Well, strictly, last weekend I spent geeking with dougs, in the playground in Welland Park and eating curry, then fixing stuffed PCs and deduplicating email on an iBook for a client of mine, but that was all fine. The weekend before that, though, I was up in Chester celebrating my eldest living aunt's70th birthday with a canal cruise in Chester. It was splendid - my largest family gathering in many years, and for a good and happy occasion for once! the_major coped admirably, too, and was well-received. I got told off for various things, of course, but what can one expect at a gathering of one's mum and her sisters? But I fixed my aunt's PC, so she's on email again, and I fixed my cousin Dee's family PC too, so their eldest can play "Black & White 2", which he is terribly excited about and grateful for. "After seeing you work, I realise that PC World don't know anything," her hubbie Adrian said, gratifyingly. Shame to spend so much of my visit fixing computers, but hey, at least people are grateful & want me back again...

Alas, the sidecar failed its MOT, though. It needs new wheel bearings and other things. We're looking into fixing it economically - it's not worth a lot any more. I was up in Leicestershire trying to sell it, actually - the trike is coming back in a couple of weeks, meaning a large bill plus reinsurance. Anyone want to buy a sidecar outfit? :¬)

It might go on eBay. A lot of stuff has, recently. I think I may start selling off unused PDAs, next. While I love the Apple Newton as a machine, I never ever use my 2100 and I don't suppose I ever will; nor my remaining Zaurus. Anyone want to make me offers for them? Paypal preferred - details on application.

Party!

It's the time of summer when it gets too hot to do anything productive. So I recommend eating, drinking and being silly, instead.

The ideal time & place for this will be from 7pm on this coming Saturday at 104 Willow Crescent, Market Harborough, LE16 9DT. the_major and beermat are throwing a party and if you read this you would be entirely welcome! Come join us! There will be food (and it will be all healthy and veggie). There will be drink (even if Clara & I don't). There will be crash space and there's a huge area of grass outside for the hardy to camp upon. There will be music and silliness. Tell anyone you think might fancy it!

The house is about 20min walk from Market Harborough station. We'll come and get you if you get lost. It's about £30 on Midland Mainline from St Pancras and the journey takes a smidge over an hour. If you're coming by road, it's close to the junction of the A6 & the A14, or come off the M1 at junction 20 and follow the A4304 into Harborough - it's before the town centre. Or you can take the A508 from junction 15 and come up through Northampton - shorter and more scenic, well-signposted, but slower roads.