Differing percpectives

Summer blockbuster - Who says that the Western is Dead?

Each summer Hollywood gets itself ready to present us with Movie blockbusters.
Films to move us, frighten us, and excite us.
To invite us to work out who are the goodies, the baddies and the bit part supporting actors.
Each film Production company is vying for our attention, and trying to steal a march on its rivals. Kids get excited and some parents too, using their children as vehicles to attend darkened Cinemas with Dolby sound, reliving their youth.

This year there is a new foreign production that is taking us all by storm. Its a real 'film Noir' in full Technicolour, giving the lighting engineers a real hangover with the fast moving sshadows.
The 2009 Tour de France.
Only 4 days in we have had everything
Exotic locations, beautiful weather and a Fantastic plot.
There has been blood, sweat, and tears.
Breakdowns, breakups and breakaways.
Tested loyalties, marriages, divorce, and further marriages of convenience.
Its a true epic.
Comparable with 'How the West was won'

With Lance Armstrong taking up the leading role pulling 'his' Astana wagon train across the french Riviera chased by the froggies.

I like his black helmet. its a cleaver rouse.

Baddies were meant to wear black hats and goodies white, but we all know that hats are removed on the podium.

I am loving it.
Of course I have only seen the rushes, and after vigorous editing, all my expectations may end up on the editing room floor. I am a bit concerned about the double dealing Spaniard with a name too similar to that of a large vulture. He is wearing a white hat.
In the mean time for those who love the thrill of the chase I attach some footage from a previous year.

Double trouble

Life has a habit of providing degrees of symmetry where things are paired together.
Things like:
Day and Night, Ying and Yang,Thunder and Lightening and Heaven and Hell.
Society has followed suit by making its own pairings like pairs of trousers, glasses, scissors, headphones and even handcuffs and shotguns, some of which I don't really understand the origins.
Over this weekend East Yorkshire had its own unique pairing in the form of twins.
My brother Paddy and I. We dabbled in our own favorite pairings too consuming, strawberries and cream, beer and peanuts and of course fish and chips.
We also had two cycle rides together.
Paddy is over from Houston on business and decided to come over to spend the weekend with his younger brother. When I say younger brother its actually Ten minutes, which is significant in the world of twins. It is the gap that separates the younger and the older.
I suspect that he also wanted check out the fitness of his 'Anglo Mules' (Simon and I) part of his 'Travels with my Mule Cycling Team.
Our event in August 'The Hotter than Hell' was apparently a very tough event and not for the unconditioned.
After group training for months with the Texas contingent, and clocking average miles in excess of 20mph he was perhaps concerned that Simon and I might slow the team down.
I was as nervous as a city banker at the potential scrutiny, as our own average times were far more modest.
Paddy resisted the invitation to head to the hill country and insisted that he wanted to replicate the sort of high tempo riding that we were likely to expect on the Texas plains.
With our own narrow twisting country roads, obligatory junctions and agricultural vehicles such a comparison was hard to achieve but it was all I could offer.
My East Yorkshire alternative was 'The Holderness Plain'
After 55 miles of riding Simon and I demonstrated to him some real Yorkshire grit.
We may not have had the advantages of team training, but we have had 3,000 + miles of riding in ice, snow, rain, gale force winds and F***ing big hills.
Our tempo seemed to impress our team leader and was at times too hot for his jet lagged legs.
By the end of our ride we had got the 'lone star' seal of approval.
Paddy declared 'I think you guys will be a great asset to our team'
Thank you Paddy we look forward to wearing our shirts with pride as well as copious amounts of sun block!!!!!!!

Training

209 miles this week, making 3,506 for the year. I will now try and do at least 200 miles per week. My virtual ride takes me into Charleston and as I enter this lovely city I really seem to be dancing on the pedals...............roll on Houston.

We all cycle for different reasons

Some just do it better than others

Beverley and its beligerant Bovines

I have recently realised that since I have started blogging I have never featured my home town Beverley.

Beverley is a market town, civil parish and the county town of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, located between the River Hull and the Westwood.

The town is noted for its main feature the Beverley Minster and architecturally significant religious buildings, as well as the Beverley Racecourse and the market place; the town itself is around 1,300 years old.
The town was originally known as Inderawuda and was founded by Saint John of Beverley during the time of Angle kingdom Northumbria.

After a period of Viking control, it passed to the Saxons, a period during which it gained prominence in terms of religious importance in Great Britain.

It continued to grow especially under the Normans when its trading industry was first established.

A place of pilgrimage through the Middle Ages due to its founder, Beverley eventually became known as a noted wool-trading town.

Beverley was once the 10th largest town in England and among the richest, owing broadly to its connection with founding saint of the town John of Beverley.

However, following the English Reformation, Beverley's regional stature was reduced.
For twenty two years, Beverley was the administrative centre of the local government district of the Borough of Beverley, and is now the East Riding county town.

It is located 8 miles (13 km) north-west of Hull, 10 miles (16 km) east of Market Weighton and 12 miles (19 km) west of Hornsea.

According to the 2001 United Kingdom Census the total population of the urban area of Beverley was 29,110, of whom 17,549 live within the historic parish boundaries.

As well as its Racecourse and markets, Beverley is known in the modern day for hosting various music festivals throughout the year.

In 2007 Beverley was named as the best place to live in the United Kingdom in a study by the Royal Bank of Scotland.

Well that's the formal bit out of the way.

All of my cycling routes start from Beverley.

If you travel anywhere North-East through to South clockwise you cycle on relatively flat roads into the Holderness plain. (this is reserved for days with a hangover, or for fast riding).

From South to North East you are directly into the Yorkshire Wolds and then towards the North Yorkshire Moors. This is big hill country, and my usual route.

This starts with a steady climb over Beverley Westwood. It is a large area of pasture land that permits free grazing through an old anomoly in the law.
As such the roads are shared with cows and bulls, some of which have very big horns. These are nowhere as big as the protrusions belonging to the Texas Longhorn, but with a ton of beast behind them, they make potent weapons. I actually find all horned cattle a little intimidating, especially when I am wearing red.

If I was the neuritic type I would be sure that these four legged creatures have a spy close to my house. Maybe its just coincidence I dont know but as each time I set off up to the Westwood, they all appear by the roadside. Its a bit like crowds lining the route of Alpe de huez in the Tour de France.

Each time I cycle up or down Westwood they are seem fascinated by me and their apparent curiosity brings them up close and personal. So much so that I am able admire the grooves on their horns and look for remnants of ripped Lycra, or cyclist blood.

Their favorite trick seems to be reserved for when I come home.

Whilst cycling at 30 + mph down the steepest section they like to step out in front of me, and stop stationary in the road.If i move to the left, they do, to the right they follow too, like some prearranged choreographed dance sequence.

I wonder are they autograph hunting? believing me to be a cycling bull.

Others like to run along side me like Didi, Le Diable, in the Tour de France.

All in all it makes for some interesting riding.

This Saturday sees a visit from Paddy by twin brother who has been putting in some great fast riding on the Texas Plains. I am looking forward to reacquainting him with some proper hills to see if he can compete for the polka dot jersey.

Sundays blog may just feature some brotherly pain as well as brotherly love, either way I am certain there will be some frivolity

Go Lance go...........................

He may not be the leader of the Astana Team or the wearer of the yellow jersey at the end of the Tour, but he is what inspires me and thousands of others to ride.
Go Lance go..................