I had a slight moment of panic when I recieved in the post a set of vintage Campagnolo C Record downtube shifters for the Walvale classic bike restoration. They came in no less than 18 teeny pieces and as they were vintage they didn’t come with an easy to follow assembly instruction manual. After...
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Sport
Assembling a Campagnolo Frictional Gear Shifter
Restoring a Classic Bike
My new project arrived in a box last night. It’s a thing of beauty but is destined to cause cursing and consternation in the household. I’m not known for my mechanical skills but I am known for flitting from one project to the next with only a book for guidance. The book didn’t help...
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The Square One Tavern Plan
My enforced rest from running was initiated by a trip to a pub. Me and my good lady gathered around a couple of pints of Wandle, pulled out the Moleskin and jotted down a recovery plan to rid me of plantar fasciitis for good and set me right for my already deferred entry to...
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The Stick and Other Methods of Torture
I’ve been using The Stick ever since I suffered with a painful muscular injury to my hamstrings. It has a very simple design – a slightly flexible plastic stick around which a set of plastic spindles can independently rotate. It is these spindles that work on your muscles to ease out knots and release...
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Pool Running for the Injured
The enforced running respite has resulted in a very slight improvement to my plantar fasciitis pain so I’m motivated to keep up with the recommendations from my podiatrist. I’ve stuck to the stretches, swapped the running with cycling and been wearing the temporary insoles in my trainers. The only remedial action left to tick...
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Honeymoon Run
When it came to packing for our honeymoon escape, Lynn made it abundantly clear that running gear would not be required. I don’t know if it’s my inherently sulky nature or my winning smile but as usual I got my own way and after sneaking a bag of sporty regalia into the boot of...
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Learning to Run
It’s my bithday soon and for a gift my mum wanted to send me off for dancing lessons – she’s worried I’m going to embarass her with the first dance at the wedding. I managed to persuade her that I was beyond redemption, wouldn’t be attempting anything beyond a pitiful shuffle and that I’d...
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Mitcham Common Adventurers
We set off in the direction of adventure and the uncharted waters of the eastern wedge of Mitcham Common. Unfortunately it didn’t prove to be entirely virgin territory and we had to endure quite substantial size-related abuse from the native youths walking their bull terriers. It’s easy to overlook these scrub-like triangles of Mitcham...
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Living with a Lab Rat
I have so many wrist and arm gadgets that I am holding out for an implantable chip so I can discard some of the clunky adornments. A chip for blood glucose levels, body temp, steps walked, calories input, distance travelled. It will be ANT enabled and my body can spill it’s beans when ever...
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Kingston Breakfast Run morphs into Richmond Lunchtime Run
Last night saw two less than eager runners imbibing carefully measured doses of liquid carbs. It was the night before the much anticipated Kingston Breakfast run and we were supposed to be having a nightcap but ended up winding each other up. For some reason the Kingston race had been declared a music free...
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