push the button

now at nunuboogie.com

2010-10-20T11:41:00.002+01:00

ooooh I now have my own domain so this blog has now moved to www.nunuboogie.com

migrating blog

2010-10-18T14:21:00.000+01:00

I am in the process of migrating my blog to http://nunuboogie.wordpress.com/ goodbye blogger thanks for the good times!

colourscrape logo

2010-10-14T14:06:00.000+01:00

Working on a logo for Sam, this is the first attempt.

A Brief History of Mac System Sounds - Eep!

2010-10-12T14:48:00.001+01:00

A Brief History of Mac System Sounds - Eep!

Apple’s computers weren’t always auditory delights. The very first Mac, the 128K released in January 1984, started up with a somewhat maddening beep reminiscent of the backing-up warning sound made by some big trucks. It took a few years for Apple to add interesting noises to their machines; the Mac SE/30, released in January 1989, booted with a cheery three note sound and included a wonderfully creepy noise -- The Chimes Of Death -- which the machine would emit when it was very upset. Accompanied by a black screen emblazoned with a picture of seriously sick looking Mac, it definitely was an attention-getter. The Chimes of Death got even more gothic in later versions, perfectly expressing the angst of a major technical problem. Over the years Apple’s other warning sounds included the Performa’s squealing-brakes-breaking-glass crescendo and the Quadra AV’s peculiar little bongo drum riff.

The Mac startup sound changed to a more impressive sustained C Major chord (the sound heard in the movie Jurassic Park when all the park’s computers were rebooted) on the 1991 Quadra 700, compliments of Jim Reekes, the engineer on Apple Sound Manager for System 7. In a May 2005 interview with MusicThing Reekes talked about how he created the sound on his home studio on a Korg Wavestation. “(It’s) played with both hands stretched out as wide as possible (with 3rd at the top, if I recall). This just sounded right to me. I wanted something really fat, heavy bass, high notes, and a sharp attack. The chiffy sound was from pan pipes and something like a stick hit (I'm testing my memory here). I wanted lots of evolving timbres, stereo phasing, and reverb for further richness."

Reekes also created “Sosumi,” a one-note alert sound that sounds like a piano plunk to some people and a xylophone to others. The story behind the name is way more interesting than the actual sound. Due to a trademark agreement with Apple Corps (owned by the Beatles), Apple Computers wasn’t allowed to enter the music business in any way, shape or form. Apple Corps was less than thrilled by System 7’s Sound Manager application, and concessions had to be made which included changing some of the included sounds’ names to less-musical monikers. Among the sounds slated for change was the Beep that became Sosumi. Reekes had wanted to name it “Chimes,” which was apparently too musical for legal comfort, so in a fit of pique brought on by long hours and too many last minute changes he suggested it be called “Let It Beep.” When that suggestion was taken seriously he responded “So sue me!” He then had an aha moment, changed the spelling to “Sosumi,” and it’s been a happy little inside (albeit widely known) joke for decades.

Some of Apple’s other earliest alert sounds also have cool background dossiers. “Moof,” for example, is the sound made by Clarus the Dogcow, a creation of Susan Kare who also designed many the Mac’s early user interface elements. Dogcow was originally a dingbat for the Cairo font, later the image was used as an icon in the printer page setup dialog box. Clarus the Dogcow became wildly popular among geeks (back in the day there were t-shirts, and buttons, and bumper stickers and even a Microsoft ad featuring the Dogcow image). And according to the infamous “Tech Note 31” Clarus even has two sidekicks; "Moofo, The Psychic Dogcow” and 'Lackey, The Obnoxious Talisman Dogcow.” The “Moof” sound made by these rare beasts was included in System 7.

Another legendry beast sound, the “Wild Eep,” was contributed by Apple developer group head C.K. Haun and was a sound made by his then-wife Lora Ray Medina, according to an entry in WikiMac. Haun commented for the WikiMac piece that “for years I was pestered by hearing her going "Eep!" at me from hundreds of computers on the Apple campus.”

If all of this has gotten you into an emo mood of longing for the sounds of Macs long gone, you can download a free collection of Apple’s greatest hits, all nicely formatted for OS X -- yes, your new Mac can quack, clink-clank, uh-oh, squeak, chainsaw and cheep just as happily as it did a decade ago. And if you want to hear every single one of the Mac startup and death chime sounds ever, download the obsessively wonderful MacTracker program, which offers detailed information on every Apple Macintosh computer ever made, including clips of their start up and death chime sounds.

If you miss the old System Sounds or you feel like rolling your own, check out our tutorial on adding new alerts to your OS X Leopard System.

Mud Runner

2010-10-12T13:09:00.001+01:00

Stumbled across this site after fellow twitter mentioned he was taking part this weekend

http://www.mudrunner.co.uk/the-classic---17th-october-2010---event-details.html

Mud Runner "THE CLASSIC" - Sunday 17th October 2010

Run the gauntlet on the very tracks that have been used to develop and test the worlds best all terrain vehicles for 40 years.

Land Rover's uncompromising tracks at Eastnor Castle have been the proving ground for these ultimate vehicles for a generation - MUD RUNNER CLASSIC, opens these tracks to intrepid athletes with the passion for a challenge.

MUD RUNNER

arguably the toughest off road run in Britain

17th October 2010

Eastnor Castle, Herefordshire

Mac Start up chime

2010-10-12T11:28:00.000+01:00

A snippet of conversation in the office got me thinking about the chime you hear everytime you start up a mac, so much so I wanted to find out a bit more:

OMT in San Francisco #3: 'Let it beep' from One More Thing on Vimeo.

http://musicthing.blogspot.com/2005/05/tiny-music-makers-pt-4-mac-startup.html

The Mac startup sound wasn't a $$$ marketing exercise. It was a hack that was quietly dropped into the machine by an engineer with a home studio…
This [mp3] famous Mac startup sound (still installed in every new Mac) was recorded Jim Reekes, and first used on the Quadra 700, which launched in 1991 costing $7,000.
Jim's most famous pop-culture moment was the scene in Jurassic Park where the park's computers are all rebooted with his sound. But it's most awesome musical use is as the bassline in Transformer di Roboter's ace cover of 'Stranger in Moscow' - here [mp3]

"The startup sound was done in my home studio on a Korg Wavestation. It's a C Major chord, played with both hands stretched out as wide as possible (with 3rd at the top, if I recall). This just sounded right to me. I wanted something really fat, heavy bass, high notes, and a sharp attack. The chiffy sound was from pan pipes and something like a stick hit (I'm testing my memory here). I wanted lots of evolving timbres, stereo phasing, and reverb for further richness."
"Mac people are very familiar with the sound, after restarting their machines too often. In fact, that was one of the issues I was conscious of when designing the sound. Turning the Mac on is one thing, but being forced to reboot from a crash is a totally different experience. I wanted to avoid a sound that would be associated with the crash. I wanted it to sound more like a "palette cleanser".
"After I changed the startup sound (which required much persuasion and working around the system) the ROM engineers continued changing it with each new machine. Some of them were weak, such as the Stanley Jordon guitar strum used on the first PowerMacs. I objected to it, because that sound had no "power". The engineer wasn't a recording engineer, and not familiar enough with audio. The sound was hallow and without depth. When Steve Jobs returned in 1997, I heard he wanted only one sound for all Macs. He wanted the "good one" which was the one I created. At least that's how I heard the story, and I was still working there at the time."

If you're concerned that you don't know enough about vintage Mac Startup sounds, I can recommend Mactracker, which runs on Mac or PC.

Summer Holiday 2011

2010-10-05T13:46:00.001+01:00

Plan to take full advantage of the van next year with a summer biking trip to the alps, fed up with British weather, and views like this are just too tempting!

Not sure really where to go? The above shot is of Morzine, which seems a popular choice. Have quite a bit of research to do. Do we need a guide? Would prefer some following singletrack and not mad descents.

morzine and portes du soleil for mountain biking

Calm like a Riot graphic

2010-10-01T14:05:00.000+01:00

Some time ago I designed a new graphic for the band Calm Like a Riot, but didn't really push the design or follow it up. While watching the band last night I noticed how tired their current drum skin looked and thought it was about time it was updated, Mick the drummer agreed.
Watch this space....

WTF 2nd puncture this week!

2010-09-29T18:07:00.000+01:00

Worcester Music Festival Competition

2010-09-29T12:58:00.029+01:00

kab-Howard_Kenny-Firefly, originally uploaded by Worcester Music Festival 2010.

kab-V2A-Marrs-Bar, originally uploaded by Worcester Music Festival 2010.

kab-lewisspeltbackwards-Air, originally uploaded by Worcester Music Festival 2010.

Well none of my entries have been shortlisted into the final, Pah!!
I see the usual names are there, mmmmmmm apparently one of the judges Lauren Rogers boasts an A level in photography "yeh" ....... Most of the finalists are technically great, yes but shame there isn't any thing original in the mix. Oh well maybe next year I should try harder, not that the iphone doesn't take a good photo, its just not competition standard.
Come on the Hoy!

worcester music festival photo competition 2010

Boxfresh socks

2010-09-29T08:04:00.001+01:00

You can't beat that fresh sock feeling, so much so i'm tempted to order just one last pair.

Addicted to sock!

Lack of preparation

2010-09-26T20:00:00.001+01:00

Keen to make the most of possibly the last sunny day for a while a trip to the Wyre forest was called for. As we were getting the bikes out the car, John said 'you want to take this inner tube?",I replied "Nah, I don't want to carry it, plus I never get a puncture" well keep your f'in mouth shut next time!

A great ride was rudely interrupted by lack of preparation! Innertube was in reach just a stroll back to the car, but stupidly no allen keys so no way to remove the rear wheel.
I WILL be more prepared in future!
Bike and I had a nice walk round the forest though.

Alfine hub

2010-09-26T19:55:00.001+01:00

Can't bring myself to sell my redundant on-one frame, so I have started a little side project using a hummingbird fork I brought from Sam at Singular cycles a while ago.
I don't really want to build a singlespeed or put gears on it, but quite fancy a internal geared hub for touring duties. BUT do I spend the extra cash on a 11 speed hub or bag a bargain 8 speed hub?
After thinking carefully about how much use this bike might get I have deceided on the 2nd hand 8 speed option. Realistically will probably only get winter commuting duties and hopefully a sea to sea touring trip, with maybe the odd Sunday ride in the Wyre.
So the feelers have been put out on singletrack and with riders looking to upgrade their current hubs to the anticipated 11 speeds hubs hopefully it shouldn't be too long before a pick up a bargain.

EDIT:
Found a complete wheel and shifter on singletrack classified arrived yesterday, now to fit!

Tunnocks jersey

2010-09-24T15:40:00.001+01:00

Mmmmmmmm teacakes, that reminds me, must buy some more.

Rockin the new socks

2010-09-24T15:38:00.002+01:00

Ordered from CRC cycles Wednesday afternoon and collected from the post office Thursday morning! Amazing! Can't really complain about that, our postal service only really gets bad press, time to big up the postmen and women.

Littlewhitehead

2010-09-23T13:49:00.000+01:00

Really like this work, takes the piss but in a not being too arty up my own arse way (if that make sense?)

littlewhitehead linky

Saatchi gallery - Newspeak: British Art Now

2010-09-20T21:06:00.001+01:00

No visit to London is complete without seeing an exhibition, hamster wanking the iphone searching for current exhibitions but not really inspired by any of the offerings, we opted for the Saatchi Gallery.

This was the first time we had visited the new site, and I was as keen to see the building as much as the art. The building didn't disappoint, inside it has amazing beautifully sanded wooden flooring with huge rectangular down lighting, that casts a clean, crisp natural light into each room.

The gallery attendants did not abject to photo's being taken so I snapped a couple of the works that I found interesting.

Scott King, Pink Cher

artist unknown

I liked the manipulation of paper, they reminded me of my university self portraits.

artist unknown

Playful images, well painted.

John Wynne Untitled

300 speakers, Pianola, vacuum cleaner, audio amplifiers, hard disc recorder, speaker wire, suction hose, piano roll

Littlewhitehead - It happened in the corner

Very spooky piece, also maybe the strongest work in the exhibition, reminiscent of the blair witch project, still is very eery looking at the photograph now. John and Christian are extra in this photo, they remained lifeless on the perimeter of the art work until a couple entered the gallery, as they approached the art work they moved and scared the shit of them.

Artist unknown

Having watched a program about recently graduated art students working toward an exhibition, I familiar with this work, and unsure if I would of taken as much interest in the piece if I hadn't known the background.

Richard Wilson 20:50

Used sump oil, steel

I have seen this piece many times and it just seems to get better. Unfortunately we were unable to enter the room completely as I have been able to do before, but that didn't seem to take any of the impact away. A truly beautiful work of art.

Many of the pieces in this show, I just didn't seem to get, but when I see this work i remember the excitement I used to feel about art, maybe one day that felling will return?

Visit to London

2010-09-20T14:39:00.106+01:00

Ten Bells Pub - Bricklane (also know as The Jack the Ripper between 1976 - 1988)

This pub has become famous for its association with two victims of Jack the Ripper, Annie Chapman and Mary Kelly. During this visit, it appeared very run down and in-between renovation, with toilets straight out of hell, but the ten bells has a strange atmosphere and seems to attracts many drinkers including many tourists who stop as part as a walking tour.
The decorative tiles are entitled 'Spitalfields in ye Olden Time" and date back to the late 19th Century designed by the firm of Wmb B Simpson and sons.

Invader Artist - Spitalfields (taken from Rootmasters window, while enjoying some healthy scran)

D*face, Truman Brewery, Brick Lane

Drone Dog, D*face's signature character on top of a battered car.

Rootmaster veggi - london's first vegan Bustaurant also reasonably priced too.

This part of London has a real vibe about it, a great place to spend a saturday afternoon. I was amazed how many Londoners ride fixie's now and how they all congregate around Spitalfields, maybe the newly opened Missionworkshop has a lot to do with the steady flux of riders cruising through bricklane, or maybe this is just where the 'cool' folk hang out? What ever it was I felt right at home surrounded by fellow riders and the good graffiti and artistic images that decorated the outsides of buildings rather than shitty tags you normally see strewn around the city.

Art crank - London

2010-09-20T12:39:00.002+01:00

IMG_9385, originally uploaded by ARTCRANK.

Great idea and a great show, hopefully Art Crank will continue to put on more shows in different venues all over the UK.
I came away with a great print by Matt Oxborrow, (left hand in the above photo) my mission today is to find a suitable frame to do the print justice.

MTB van design

2010-09-17T16:02:00.001+01:00

Isn't she pretty! :)

Last weekend we visited Vanfest hoping to get some ideas for our MTB van conversion, but Malvern's vanfest proved immensely disappointing, there was plenty of the run of the mill conversions on display but unfortunately Amdro conversions (the top contender for our bespoke conversion) wasn't there, the only other company that may be suitable was dirty weekenders. It appears there is a gap in the market for mountain bike conversions.

Hopefully we will be able to get down to Bristol soon to be able to see one of the Amdro conversions in the flesh, they do look good, and they appear to have enough room to store two bikes in the rear. The only con against is the cost.

http://www.amdro.co.uk

Dirty Weekender's design is slightly different, positioning the bed on high legs about 2 to 3 foot from the roof of the van, I can see the advantage of this if you transport long sports equipment like surf boards but not practical for our MTB van. They are willing to design a conversion bespoke to our needs though, and are very local, but we are yet to get a proper quote for the conversion so its hard to make an informed comparison of the two companies.

http://www.dirty-weekender.com

Awnings seem like a practical way to solve the issues of cooking/hanging out when the weather is pants, but some of the designs are truly awful, the reimo davos 2 seems to be the best on the market but after a search on t'erweb they don't appear to be readily available. Shame!

http://www.reimo.com/en/900120-van_awning_davos_2/

Art Crank

2010-09-17T10:45:00.001+01:00

Looking forward to going to ArtCrank this weekend, been a while since we last visited the capital city and my old uni mate Sam.

Cyclemeter Cycle 17 Sep 2010 07:37:38

2010-09-17T09:05:00.002+01:00

First Commute into work for a while, took it easy and just enjoyed the ride, first noticeably fresh one too!

Shortened Google Maps URL: http://j.mp/bnPf56

Started: 17 Sep 2010 07:37:38
Ride Time: 44:59
Stopped Time: 2:57
Distance: 9.89 miles
Average: 13.19 miles/h
Fastest Speed: 27.85 miles/h
Climb: 289 feet
Calories: 368

http://www.cyclemeter.com

Blackberry wine stage 2

2010-09-16T21:22:00.001+01:00

Second Stage now complete, filtered out fruit and added more sugary water solution, now I've got to leave it 10 days till the next stage.

Fixed in progress

2010-09-15T22:37:00.000+01:00

Cool things on a mac

2010-09-15T16:43:00.000+01:00

"Move the mouse over a word and press Command-Control-D to show the dictionary/thesaurus entry. If you don't release "Command-Control" you can move the mouse to other words"

Just discovered the dictionary on the mac! Having owned a mac since the year 2000, how slow am I?

Other cool things on the mac are:

Screengrabs

Shift-Apple-3 will do the entire screen.
Shift-Apple-4 will take a screen shot of the area you select

and Shift-Apple-Ctrl-4 will copy the selected area to your clipboard.
and Shift-Apple-4 followed by the space bar will grab a single window.
To Show Clipboard - Finder -> Edit menu -> Show Clipboard.

Another function that not too many Mac users know is “Invert screen”. Just press Ctrl-Option-Cmd-8 on your keyboard and see your Mac invert its colours.

Now my appetite has been wetted, I'm on the hunt ;-)

Sushi

2010-09-12T19:18:00.001+01:00

Second attempt at sushi, still seem to be over packing my rolls, a couple required an extra sheet to bridge the gap! Lots more practice needed here. Must visit our local japenese restaurant again soon to see how the experts do it.

New jethro tule tool

2010-09-08T20:14:00.001+01:00

On recommendation from @evilgordon I purchased a new tool, surly jethro tule, what a great name! Hopefully next time my chain comes off I will be more than prepared :)

Blackberry wine making Stage 1

2010-09-08T20:13:00.001+01:00

Stage 1 - now complete

Blackberries crushed, sugary water and yeast added now all I have to do is wait 7 days for Stage 2.

Blackberry wine

2010-09-08T17:57:00.002+01:00

My first attempt of making Blackberry wine using the recipe below:

http://www.familyherbalremedies.com/blackberry_wine_recipe.html

Mighty Fine Homemade Blackberry Wine Recipe

The recipe I am giving you is to make ONE GALLON of wine.  What you’ll need:

• 4 1⁄2 pounds of blackberries. That takes about an hour or less to pick.

• 2 1⁄2 lbs. of regular old sugar, the white kind.

• 7 pints of water

• a red wine yeast (regular yeast will work too, but not as good)

Equipment:

• Polyurethane pale from a home brewing store (OR A CLEAN BUCKET)

• A glass carboy from a brewing store (Or a gallon glass jug that apple juice is often packaged in. The organic juice form my co-op is anyways)

• An airlock from a brewing store (or a balloon or some cotton wool.)

• A siphon from a brewing store (or five feet of clear plastic tubing from a hardware store)

Later: wine bottles, corks, a hand corker

Optional: Campden tablets and Star San Sanitizer

So, the stuff from the home brew store is ideal, and doesn’t cost that much. BUT if you have no brew supply store, then just use the alternatives I gave.

I would at least try to order a red wine yeast by Red Star if you can. Just Google “homebrew supplies’ and you can come up with lots of options should you want to get stuff from a brew supply store and have none near you.

PART 1 of the blackberry wine recipe: Here’s what to do: (Read these directions all the way through first)

1. Gather your blackberries

2. Crush the berries by hand in your bucket or pale and then pour on one quart of boiled water that has cooled. Mix it well.

3. Campden tablets kill any unwanted yeast. I made this wine for years successfully without them. Other wines I have had problems not using them. So, it’s your call. If you want them, crush one tablet and dissolve the powder in a little bit of warm water. Mix this with the fruit.

A note on cleaning equipment… For years I just poured boiling water in my equipment to clean it off. It worked just fine. I did have a batch of elderberry wine go bad two years ago on me on the early stage. Was it a wild yeast? Well, whatever it was, it was unwanted.

The wine store guy said it might have been because I did not use campden tablets? Did I not properly sterilize my equipment? Well, I don’t know. And it’s up to you. Clean things out with boiling water or use the Star San Sanitizer that you can get from that Homebrew shop I mentioned.

You can certainly do fine with out it. However, in the future, if you make a bad batch, you might want to consider it.

4. Leave the mixture alone for a couple hours. No worries if bleaching takes place.

5. WHILE you are waiting for those 2 hours to pass… take one third of the sugar and boil it for one minute in 3 pints of water (that’s 48 ounces). Allow this to cool to room temperature.

6. WHEN IT HAS COOLED… take a packet of the yeast and empty it into 4 ounces of warm water. Let it sit for 10 minutes.

7. Pour the syrup (sugar water) into the pulp.

8. Pour in the yeast. If you do not wait for the syrup to cool first, you will KILL the yeast. It is ALIVE.

9. Cover this with a clean cloth.

10. Let it sit for 7 days in a warm place. 

Part 2 of how to make blackberry wine: AFTER SEVEN DAYS…

1. Strain the pulp though a fine muslin or other material and wring it out dry.

2. Compost the pulp.

3. Put the strained wine into your gallon jug.

4. Boil another 1/3 of the sugar in ONE PINT (16 oz.) of water. LET IT COOL.

5. When it cools, add it to the rest. If you do not wait for it to cool, then you’ll KILL your yeast.

6. Plug the top of the jug with an airlock or some cotton wool. I like the airlocks. They are cheap and clean. Just put a bit of water in it so the bobber thingie can go up an down. You can also put a balloon in it. It will trap all the CO2 in the balloon. The airlock lets it out. If you use an airlock, you should see the wine bubble, bubble, bubble!

7. Let this sit for 10 days… 

Part 3 of the balckberrry wine recipe: AFTER TEN DAYS

I will post photos for this section later. When you get to this stage, check back.

1. Siphon out your wine into a spare jar or pot. Make sure you are keeping your equipment clean. To siphon, put you spare jar LOWER than your wine. Put the siphon on the wine and direct the bottom to the jar. With your head lower than the wine, suck hard on the tube making sure you do not drink the wine. The wine will flow into the tube and into your jar. Let the wine flow and leave the sediment in your jug. It should be obvious what to do.

2. Clean out your jug you used. Sterilize it, then return your wine to the jug you used before.

3. Boil the remaining one third of the sugar in the remaining pint of water. LET IT COOL.

4. Add it to the wine, plug the jug back up like you did before.

5. Leave it in a warm place until FERMENTATION STOPS! You’ll know cuz it will stop bubbling.

Part 4 of the blackberry wine recipe: AFTER IT’S DONE BUBBLING…

1. Siphon into another spare jar leaving sediment behind.

2. Get your bottles, clean them and sanitize them. Wine can still go bad if put in tainted bottles.

3. Put a funnel in the bottle, and fill each bottle to the neck.

4. Cork each bottle.

5. DRINK! 

CONCLUSION of how to make blackberry wine…

The wine will get better with age, but I hear berry wine only is good for a couple to few years. I have no idea. I drink all mine within the year.

New personal best

2010-09-08T17:56:00.002+01:00

Timed trip 35.17
Max speed 30 mph
Avg speed 17.6 mph
ODO 1159 miles
Total timed 83.58.05

Fixie mechanical

2010-09-02T18:25:00.002+01:00

First mechanical on the fixie my chain came off WTF?!? Didn't think that was possible. Luckily I carry a tool.

September

2010-09-02T15:47:00.001+01:00

Wow it's September already! August always goes past too quick :(
But September has started beautifully hopefully it will continue.

Aims for September
1. Finish reading my book and start another.
2. Understand and work on training schedule.
3. Produce some art work.
4. Finish current painting I'm working on.
5. One wild swim.

Indy Fab

2010-08-30T21:06:00.000+01:00

First ride went well, she rides like a dream very light, and fast, more than pleased. Maybe set up tubeless next?

Wild swimming

2010-08-29T23:52:00.002+01:00

Fancy having a wild swim somewhere soon, although I'm not too keen on cold water!

New build

2010-08-29T21:00:00.003+01:00

After weeks fretting about whether the frame would arrive, it did and on my birthday of all days, I was very happy :)
Unfortunately this didn't give me enough time to get it built before SSUK, but I enjoyed the last ride on the on-one in its current guise.
So today I started the build, swapping most of the parts from the on-one less a headset I purchased a while back, only encountered difficulties removing the cranks but this was down to lack of strength and Dunc saved the day.
looking forward to the virgin voyage tomorrow!

Commute home

2010-08-28T01:35:00.002+01:00

Google Maps URL: http://maps.google.com/?q=http://share.abvio.com/4e4d/8638/4c5a/d31f/Cyclemeter-Cycle-20100827-1708.kml
Started: 27 Aug 2010 17:08
Ride Time: 33:18
Distance: 9.23 miles
Average: 16.62 miles/h
Fastest Speed: 23.93 miles/h
Climb: 190 feet

Time to build

2010-08-25T13:41:00.001+01:00

Malverns blast

2010-08-24T22:10:00.004+01:00

Google Maps URL: http://maps.google.com/?q=http://share.abvio.com/4e4d/8638/4c5a/d31f/Cyclemeter-Cycle-20100824-1731.kml
Started: 24 Aug 2010 17:31:05
Ride Time: 1:23:39
Distance: 4.97 miles
Average: 3.57 miles/h
Fastest Speed: 19.83 miles/h
Climb: 837 feet
http://www.cyclemeter.com

It seems ages since we headed out to the hills for a ride, this is such a shame as we have such a great riding destination right on the door step and so worth the effort every now and again. All was going great guns till descending from the beacon, flat tyre bugger no pump, well that's was that then.
Must return soon!

Afan cycling hols

2010-08-23T14:17:00.003+01:00

W2 trail, originally uploaded by nunuboogie.

Longest natural singletrack - Doethie Valley

2010-08-16T16:51:00.007+01:00

Lynn Brianne, originally uploaded by nunuboogie.

Keen to get a second days cycling in we made arrangements to follow a fellow singlespeeder to Llyn Brianne reservoir. Unfortunately we lost our guide but managed to find the reservoir after driving round Wales for a bit. Arriving at the carpark we met up with one of the party who gave us rough directions. Simple forest cruise from Llyn Brianne, then a steep technical climb left of the cottage. Off we set not feeling very confident that we would find this magic ride. After cycling nearly half way round the reservoir and close to facing defeat we met a group of ssuk riders having a guided tour and they were happy for us to join them. Bonus!

Not long after the group found us we were making our way up the steep technical climb, then across moor land and down a rocky decent taking a sharp left through a gate. Doethie Valley (welsh for small piece of mountain bike heaven) and it sure is, a few places call for a dismount plus a very funny fall into a black muddy puddle! When you emerge at the bottom of the valley there is a steep rocky climb, and you come out on the fire road a few kilometres from the start, with a nice roll to the carpark.
Unsure why but I was expected singletrack through a wooded section, no this was natural singletrack following a valley, stunning views and great trails, epic riding at it's best!

Doethie Valley, originally uploaded by nunuboogie.

SSUK Cwm Rhaeadr

2010-08-16T16:25:00.002+01:00

IMG_1619, originally uploaded by nunuboogie.

Singlespeed UK this year was to be held at Cwm Rhaeadr Located mid-Wales, funnily we ended up following @evilgordon through much of Wales, a fellow twitter and bike rider living in Worcester, finally we were to meet.
The course was tough, up and down which was great fun with a beer stop in-between. I ended up pushing most of the up's but so did pretty much everyone else, later found out only 2 riders managed to cycle the whole course!
Drinking and cycling is a dangerous combination as I was too find out on my second and last lap, I am now sporting a whopping bruise on my leg where the Mary bars plunged into my thigh.

Cyclemeter commute

2010-08-11T11:02:00.000+01:00

Google Maps URL commute to work
Started: 11 Aug 2010 07:43:52
Ride Time: 43:54
Stopped Time: 0:00
Distance: 9.23 miles
Average: 12.62 miles/h
Fastest Speed: 20.68 miles/h
Climb: 174 feet
Calories: 323

SITS results

2010-08-10T23:09:00.003+01:00

results page
Position 11th out of 50 mixed teams
31 laps 24:43:27
Dotty's Crew
1091 Aimee Black 1 00:54:39
1092 Dave Elliott 2 00:42:28
1089 Mark Regan 3 00:40:07
1093 Kelly Black 4 00:48:29
1090 John Walters 5 00:46:29
1091 Aimee Black 6 00:48:18
1092 Dave Elliott 7 00:40:51
1089 Mark Regan 8 00:40:09
1093 Kelly Black 9 00:49:09
1090 John Walters 10 00:46:59
1089 Mark Regan 11 00:42:21
1093 Kelly Black 12 00:53:32
1090 John Walters 13 00:52:06
1091 Aimee Black 14 00:51:52
1092 Dave Elliott 15 00:43:44
1091 Aimee Black 16 00:55:18
1092 Dave Elliott 17 00:44:30
1089 Mark Regan 18 00:43:15
1093 Kelly Black 19 01:01:11
1090 John Walters 20 00:53:59
1089 Mark Regan 21 00:44:19
1093 Kelly Black 22 00:54:02
1090 John Walters 23 00:53:14
1091 Aimee Black 24 00:50:59
1092 Dave Elliott 25 00:42:29
1089 Mark Regan 26 00:42:44
1090 John Walters 27 00:51:43
1093 Kelly Black 28 00:53:49
1092 Dave Elliott 29 00:40:22
1089 Mark Regan 30 00:41:15
1091 Aimee Black 31 00:49:05

Sleepless in the Saddle 2010

2010-08-07T14:44:00.160+01:00

SITS

There was a lot of anticipation abouts SITS this year, mainly down to the weather forecast, having raced SITS last in 2008 when it was a mud fest any really wet weather would of made riding tough!

Luckily we were blessed with great weather and an extremely mild night too.

This was also the van first outing, "making do" with a futon mattress and duet, the small time we spent sleeping in it was very enjoyable.

Team name: Dottys Crew
Running order: Aimee, Dave, Mark, Kelly, John

Aimee kindly volunteered to start.

Aim on the start line

Go Aim, go!!!

My first lap came round quite quickly even though it wasn't till about 6 ish, off i went to the transition area to wait for Mark to finish his lap. The course was great fun, no real hard climbing but enough to keep it interesting and some lovely wooded sections that i looked forward to on every lap. Most of the route either ran through fields or wooded sections which by the end of the race were like little dust pools, imagine what would of happened to these if it had rained!
Some of the wooded sections were quite tight, and required lots of concentration +1 on the night laps.
Most riders out on the course were kind and considerate, only had issues with one salsa rider who though that everyone else on the course should make way, ggggrrrrrrrrrrrrr.
Unlike past 24hr events i managed to log every lap on the garmin and one with the iphone.

Cyclemeter route

My second lap was scheduled to start 8ish so lights were prepared and attatched to bike and helmet, first proper test of the modified lumicycle lights was impressive, but my cheap chinese helmet light wouldn't stay on, and annoyingly flashed on and off through out my lap.
During this lap i thought i had cramp in my right leg as i felt a sharp pain in my calf while attacking a climb in the woods, my thigh and calf seized and i stopped briefly to stretch but i think now i must have slightly torn a muscle as it is still very stiff and sore.

The routine during night laps changed slightly to allow other team members enough time to catch a few hours sleep one lap on one lap off, so bed after lap 3 - just after 11pm ready for my 3am knock!

Heading into the night we were in 12th position.

The dreaded knock came just after 3am, leaving me 45mins to prepare.
Night laps are great fun, lonely, spooky, the course seems so much different at night, sections you remember riding in the day completely disappear! I'm also sure I saw a lunar eclipse?

Lovely views around 5am it was very misty as my lap finished just as the sun started to rise.
Its strange stuffing your face at 3.30am and 5.30am in the morning, god I was looking forward to a bacon sandwich.....6.43am time for another lap.

My final lap finished 1pm phew!

Dottys crew were now in 11th place, keen to keep that position we decided to get in as many laps as possible and Aim said she didn't mind doing the final lap. It was a bit touch and go wether she would get out again but Mark steamed back with 2 minutes to spare.

Final lap count
Aimee - 6
Dave - 6
Mark - 7
Kelly - 6
John - 6

Maiden voyage

2010-08-06T20:29:00.001+01:00

SITS packing list

2010-08-04T16:01:00.000+01:00

Camping Stuff
Stove plus spare gas
head torch and camping light
cooking equipment pans, plates ect.
water carrier
chairs plus blow up sofa
tent????
camping mat or futon mattress
sleeping bag plus liner
pillow

Bike Stuff
Bike x 2 ?? (singlespeed)
Bike lights and battery - charge up
Shimano spd shoes plus waterproof boots
helmet
camelbak
all of my cycling clothes

Clothes and other
2 x Camera and batteries - charge up
2 x MP3 player
garmin - charge up
Warm Coat
Hoody
shorts
Body warmer
jeans
tshirt
tooth brush and paste
warm Socks
wash kit and Towel
whooly Hat
Undies
Bin bag for dirty clothes
Matches
floppers and trainers

Where is my iPad?

2010-08-04T14:21:00.001+01:00

So the case and dock has arrived, just waiting paitently now for the main man to arrive!

New van

2010-08-04T13:03:00.002+01:00

Now this is the new van, first seen yesterday, first impressions very nice ;)
Still to have privacy glass inserted and the disabled lift removed, but should hopefully be ready for Friday. All being well then, this year we will be atending SITS in the van! yipeeee

Gisburn Forest Ride

2010-08-03T22:27:00.000+01:00

IMG_1587, originally uploaded by nunuboogie.

Gisburn Forest Garmin Connect - Details

Finding ourselves near Gisburn due to family commitments, an opportunity of cycling arose that was just too good to miss. So as well as packing wedding outfits into the car, bikes came along too!
The day started bright and sunny but as soon as biking time arrived the heavens opened, this wouldn't stop us enjoy the riding though, the trails were muddy and wet in places but we were lucky enough to avoid more rain during the ride.

IMG_1585, originally uploaded by nunuboogie.

IMG_1592, originally uploaded by nunuboogie.

Gisburn is a superb place to ride the trails are well marked and arduous enough to test even the best riders skills. Riding varies from rooty forest runs to rocky descents and technical climbs over slabs of rock and the hugest berms known to mankind!

About 3 miles form the finish John suffered his first pinch flat and we had a moment of "bugger, shit, shit" when he realised he had left spare inner tubes in the car but luckily deep down hidden in the camelbak we found the puncture repair kit.

IMG_1594, originally uploaded by nunuboogie.

The last section of the ride revealed some a new section, since our last visit, built next to the normal friendly boardwalk was some (black route) boardwalk from hell! I valued my teeth too much on this particular visit to attempt the 2 ft high long narrow sections of board and took the easy way round, John ducked out too saying "he wasn't going fast enough" ???? maybe next time.........

IMG_1597, originally uploaded by nunuboogie.

New van

2010-07-29T12:38:00.001+01:00

It has been a long time coming but looks like our new van is on the horizon. The colour will be the same as this transporter, but our van will have windows in the sides and back door, yet to be confirmed if it is a tail gate version or not. Very excited as we can now start planning the conversion into mtb camper van. Maybe our holiday destination will also change no longer rainy Wales maybe sunny France or even Spain for next years summer hols. One day soon I will get that lounger by the pool.

The Vinyl

2010-07-29T12:35:00.001+01:00

The Vinyl, originally uploaded by KingdomBike.

This has to be one of the most attractive bikes, I've seen. Unfortunately on first glance it appears kingdombikes is another bike company that has forgotten the little people. Maybe they will make a special for me? Better start saving!

Dirty Grips

2010-07-29T11:07:00.004+01:00

Commuting

2010-07-29T11:07:00.003+01:00

As the car is soon to be disposed of I am trying to commute more regularly, so far this week have done yesterday and today, and will surely do tomorrow, as long as the rain holds off!
Commute in:
Trip distance - 10.18 miles
Timed trip - 46.40 mins
Max speed - 24.1 mph
Average speed - 13 mph
ODO - 1039 miles

Should really buy some mud guards, but will my fixie still look cool?

New foot bridge

2010-07-29T11:06:00.002+01:00

Go fast cycling socks!

2010-07-22T09:41:00.000+01:00

Wet Brooks Saddle

2010-07-20T12:02:00.000+01:00

Commute In 20/07/2010

2010-07-20T11:29:00.002+01:00

Trip Distance 10.15 miles

Timed Trip 49.38 mins

Max Speed 23.1 mph

Average Speed 12.2 mph

ODO 960 miles

Total Timed Commuting 69hrs 45mins 16 seconds

Commute home

2010-07-20T09:36:00.001+01:00

Timed 37.19
max 28.7
Average 16.7
ODO 950

Fairwell old friend

2010-07-19T20:48:00.000+01:00

Dr. Vegas in his brand new Knit Wrestling Singlet & Mask.

2010-07-19T16:08:00.001+01:00

Dr. Vegas in his brand new Knit Wrestling Singlet & Mask., originally uploaded by Corinna A. Carlson.

love this :)

iMac g3 sage - erase and install

2010-07-18T17:45:00.001+01:00

Hello from china

2010-07-16T11:32:00.000+01:00

Wow organisation on the iPhone

2010-07-16T11:23:00.000+01:00

Ti bride?

2010-07-16T11:22:00.000+01:00

Project mtb van

2010-07-12T12:40:00.001+01:00

New socks

2010-07-11T18:21:00.000+01:00

Classic Weekender

2010-07-06T11:55:00.003+01:00

Singletrack Classic Weekender

Having a vague idea of what to expect, i decided it was about time we did an event in Ju's neck of the woods, he raved about it last year and as this was only its second year running I thought it would be nice to take part in a small event, maybe there even being a chance of being placed quite high if not many girls entered?

Having ridden in Lee Quarry before I familiar with the terrain and had always enjoyed the riding.

The first event was the downhill, hahahaha, the course was not in the least how i expected, some sections just didn't seem to flow at all, but after two seeding runs I was starting to enjoy downhilling! First run was about 3 mins 20 seconds second about 3 mins 15 seconds.

Next was the trials hahahahaha first uphill climb - fail, second track stand - fail, third see-saw - just pass hooray! forth log run - pass :) , fifth large uphill steps - fail. 2/5 not too bad considering I had done zero preparation for this event!

Aim had two quite epic fails, first on the hill climb when she ended up as a turtle and second on the large steps, which resulted in an over the bars photo which in the end bagged her a prize of a new radley frame!

Now the downhill event, both Aimee and I were starting at 5.30pm so plenty of time to worry about what lay ahead. We watched the faster riders hammer down the quarry then headed up to the start gate. My run went quite well apart from a slip on the lower gravel section, which would of cost me a few seconds. But I was pleased with the time on the clock 3.04 which later changed to 3.06???? Not sure why? But pleased anyway. Aim suffered her final fall for the day also on the lower gravel section and came in 3.15.

Day 2 consisted of a cross country race around the quarry, all time penalties added up to starting position 10 minutes behind the race leaders. Aim shot off and I didn't see her again the the rest of the race! Well done sis! I battled my way round, racing level with another lady on an Orange 5, who I managed to overtake on the climbs each lap, I think it also helped that i took the red route down instead of the black, which I worked out on the first lap was the fastest route. I found the race quite grouling, and was dissing myself for not having removed my jacket before hand, but after ditching it with John on the final lap, started to enjoy the course more. Overall coming 7th beating the lady on the Orange 5 quite considerably.

Classic Weekender

2010-07-06T11:36:00.001+01:00

Commute to work

2010-07-06T08:41:00.000+01:00

Trip 10.18
Timed 48.39
Max 26.8
Avg 12.5

Sent from my iPhone

spectacular crash !

2010-07-05T13:17:00.002+01:00

spectacular crash !, originally uploaded by strattonnicholas.

Second crash for Aim on the trials section! Poor sis, hurt yourself on this fall, so winning a frame for the crash slightly made up for it!

Results

Downhill times

Cross country times

Commute to work

2010-07-01T14:36:00.001+01:00

Avg 13.0
Odo 895
Trip 10.24
Timed 47.15
Max 21.3

Commute home

2010-07-01T14:34:00.000+01:00

Avg 17.2
Odo 885
Trip 10.44
Timed 36.15
Max 30.8 new record!

commute to work

2010-06-25T09:29:00.001+01:00

>> Trip distance 10.16
>> Timed trip 44.18
>> Max 26.7
>> Avg. 13.7
>> ODO 854
>>

commute home no.2

2010-06-23T18:37:00.001+01:00

> Trip distance 10.34
> Timed trip 35.10
> Max 28.5
> Avg. 17.6
> ODO 844
>

Shiny Booty found on commute

2010-06-23T08:55:00.000+01:00

Morning commute no.2

2010-06-23T08:52:00.000+01:00

Trip distance 10.74
Timed trip 46.59
Max 24.3
Avg. 13.7
ODO 833

BBF

2010-06-08T14:07:00.001+01:00

Bristol bikefest

2010-06-07T16:22:00.000+01:00

Second event of the year Bristolbikefest, this one is a new one to the racing calendar but quite local so no excuses for not taking part, held at Ashton Court just off the M5 junction 19. Aim and Dave arrived a few moments before and discovered that the caravan wouldn't fit in the allocated space, so we camped near other caravans in the parking area, we later discovered that this was a much better pitch. Possibly also much safer, as we learnt that a dozen or so bikes were stolen late Saturday early Sunday morning from the main camping area.
The course was fairly flat with a couple of short climbs and short rocky descents, the majority running through wooded areas rooty, rocky and fast, resulting in an average lap time of 32m 14s. Half way round the course was a large bridge construction with steep access and exit routes, many riders suffered with pinch flats when exiting the ramp, luckily my tubeless se-tup held tight and fast. First impressions of the course were not favourable, I did find the first lap a bit dull, but the lack of climbing and fast wooded sections soon became more appealing as the day went on. The team managed 5 laps each, with Dave doing an extra lap, which ended up being the final lap, unfortunately John suffered 2 punctures and was forced to retire.

Wheelie wyre weridos was in 23rd position most of the day but finally finishing in position 32 out of 42.

laptimes

2010-06-07T14:15:00.001+01:00

Long Mynd

2010-06-01T20:02:00.003+01:00

Long Mynd route

Great sunday cycling over the Long Mynd, slightly different route than last time, still alittle exploring left to do! Lots of climbing followed by some good descents.

Untitled by nunuboogie at Garmin Connect - Details

2010-06-01T19:50:00.001+01:00

Commute to work

Long time coming so thought i'd go for a pratice fun run.

Goodbye old friend

2010-05-21T13:18:00.000+01:00

Lemond Fillmore

2010-04-23T07:49:00.001+01:00

Lemond Fillmore

2010-04-23T07:48:00.001+01:00

Lemond Fillmore

2010-04-23T07:46:00.000+01:00

SSEC 2010

2010-04-19T12:16:00.008+01:00

Race number, originally uploaded by nunuboogie.

Took part in my first singlespeed event over the weekend, great atmosphere and a great crowd! I was worried that I would struggle and make a tit of myself but held my own quite well, completing two laps in the sweltering heat! The course was mostly the same as the forest of dean enduro race last year, and I was happy I had ridden most of it before. After completing my first lap I was surprised and very grateful to stop for beer and flapjacks :) Even thinking about taking part in SSUK and would love to head out to Belgium for next years event!

IMG_1476[1], originally uploaded by nunuboogie.

Big respect to Sheldon and the Knights of Niche for organising the event, the cheese board was the biggest I have ever seen and had the delights of sampling! Now all i need to do is locate and save up for a super attention whore frame ;)

last FM stats - love the stats!

2010-04-12T17:46:00.001+01:00

HONC 2010

2010-04-12T10:36:00.003+01:00

Hell of the north complete, originally uploaded by nunuboogie.

HONC 2010 by nunuboogie at Garmin Connect - Details

Another excellent ride round the Cotswolds, great weather and great company!

CLAR

2010-04-08T20:55:00.000+01:00

Spring is here!

2010-04-08T20:54:00.001+01:00

And return journey

2010-04-08T18:57:00.001+01:00

> Trip Distance: 13.47 miles
> Timed trip: 1.02.10 mins
> Max speed: 22.8 mph
> Average: 12.9 mph
> ODO: 749
> Total timed: 53.24.43
>

HONC warm up

2010-04-08T10:52:00.001+01:00

Home to mum and dads

Trip Distance: 12.53 miles
Timed trip: 55.48 mins
Max speed: 23.1mph
Average: 13.4 mph
ODO: 735
Total timed: 52.22.19

Ransom demands

2010-04-04T20:14:00.001+01:00

Ransom note

2010-04-04T18:32:00.000+01:00

Monday Commute home

2010-03-29T19:06:00.002+01:00

Trip distance: 10.27 miles
Timed trip: 37.18 mins
Max speed: 27.7 mph
Average 16.4 mph
ODO: 723 miles
Total timed: 51.25.53

Rain has the advantage of moulding the brooks saddle to the shape of my arse, so much more comfortable!

Monday Commute

2010-03-29T15:44:00.000+01:00

Trip distance: 10.69 miles
Timed trip: 46.56 mins
Max speed: 24.6 mph
Average 13.6 mph
ODO: 712 miles
Total timed: 50h48m10s

Very rainy commute, with comedy splash from a car right at the start!
Looks like it commando today then ;)
On the plus side it was great fun and saddle felt a lot more
comfortable.

Adventure 2

2010-03-26T08:31:00.000Z

Adventures of the Magic munchkin

2010-03-26T08:30:00.000Z

Last fm stats

2010-03-23T10:57:00.000Z

Last FM Top Tracks

Cassius – Foals

Don't Stay Away – Phyllis Dillon

Horses – The Edmund Fitzgerald

Top Artists

Foals

Fuck Buttons

Up, Bustle and Out

Wednesday Commute home

2010-03-17T19:12:00.000Z

Timed trip: 36.17 mins
>>> Max speed: 29.1 mph
>>> Average speed: 16.7 mph
>>> ODO: 702 miles
>>> Trip distance: 10.23 miles
Total times: 50h 01mins 14sec
>

Well think that may be a record or close to it anyway, could still go
quicker :)