Jenn Hopkins

the observant amongst you will note that those are race numbers, with
pins on, of the sort you would usually find/wear at road crits. and
that they are next to what are undeniably my (grubby) toes.

could i possibly have been road racing? er, maybe. floodlit track,
fast wheels, hard work at the front, falling off the back, sprinting
for fifth, cruising home with a smile. good fun, and my legs still
feel a bit odd.

big thank you to tameside cdg for willingly organising a separate
womens event as part of their evening league. absolutely the best way
to get more women interested in racing. winners!

http://www.tamesidecyclingdevelopment.co.uk/

spend much time outside and you soon realise that summer comes first
these days; march, april, may. get your playing out done and your new
legs in by whitsun because then comes early winter; june and july,
moist and grey, not especially nice. could be labelled 'unseasonable',
if we weren't already expecting it. reprise march and april in august,
or at least what should be march and april; more wet, more grey,
roiling winds, man the oars. september's coming soon, though, and with
it the second chance second summer; dusty trails, dry roads, bare
arms, grazed knees. with luck there'll be barely a week's interlude of
mist and mizzle before proper winter turns up again in november, all
eye-searingly brilliant tropical whites and blues, sticking around til
valentine's day, and so we begin again.

but while you're waiting: skin's still waterproof.
ttfu.

three day weekend; time to play.

riding:

running:

sipping:

1 latte
1 assam
1 mocha
1 hot chocolate
1 chai latte
2 espresso
3 americano
3 english breakfast

...and so on.

i think that may be classed as a habit...

my brother quietly went and bought himself a new bike. nothing unusual
in that, i suppose - although it is rather odd that he managed to end
up with a five t. can bike taste run in the family?

we also seem to share the same magnetic attraction for freakishly bad
weather - there's so much rain in this picture (and in our helmets,
shoes, gloves, jackets, etc) that it's cancelled itself out completely
and is just wall-to-wall wet:

and just like me he's becoming renowned for causing serious
fluctuations in the force - jra, on one of macc's busiest roundabouts:

eek! and, rarrrrr! in equal measure. i am so proud.

he's off to iceland next for a spot of light touring (read: a three
week lap of the island in search of the biggest volcano he can find).
take cover, norsefolk. your weather is in danger :)

first shirt out of the care package fits the mood of the week to a, well, t.

thanks domestique :)

so, whilst the rest of the kmp were sunning themselves on the south
coast yesterday, i was wrapping up the loose ends of a mammoth, four
month, work-travel-work-travel-work-travel-work-work-work binge.

it's time for a holiday.

the five t now sports rack and panniers, the maps are covered in
highlighter pen, i've packed enough warm stuff to be comfortable yet
only one book, and have even fitted a second bottle cage in concession
to this crazy sunshine.

back in may...

there's something pleasingly circular about living with an everyday
bike. the sort of bike that doesn't gather too much attention, at home
or away; that isn't an object of lust or desire but instead is there
to quietly get the job done.

ride it, it wears in.
ride it, it wears out.
ride it 'til it falls apart.
fix it.

new bearings, new cables, new chain, new tape.

ride it. silence.
start again.

in lieu of burning money to play out down south, spent sunday doing
fast and light (ish) on a big, work-shaped tour of the white peak.

took the neglected fivet (sounds like: rivet) out to stretch its legs
on unknown white roads and green lanes. found miles of perfect derbyshire strada
bianca, caught the sun, wore my tyres out, made plans to return at
some point when there's time enough for play.

sigh. one day...

found hibernating at the back of the sock drawer, brand new and ready
for a day like this.

the friday-night-in-the-pub thing.