Hello... is this thing on?

Oh, this still works...

[Music] Metallica - Anthesia (Pulling Teeth)

RIP Cliff Burton, 10/02/62 - 27/09/86.

[Beer] Doom Bar, Sainsbury's Porter, Hooky Gold, The Leveller, Tribute

Bit of a beer round up as I've not posted about them in a while.

Sharps Doom Bar.

A lot has said some good things about this newish ale from Cornwall. For me, it wasnt all that - kind of like a flat lager with too much of a sugary taste. Golden and crisp colouring, no head. Maybe better chilled? Dont know, might try that.

Sainsbury's London Porter.

Interesting. A Sainsbury's "own brand" Porter from their "Taste The Difference" range. Really taste, chocolate and earthy. Dark and rich but no more viscous than a paler ale. Lovely bitter after-taste on the tongue. Really liked this, will get it again.

Hook Norton Hooky Gold.

Another little cracker. Pale and golden (hence the name), nice refreshing taste and mellow bubble level. A a nice size head when I poured it and gave a full mouth of flavour.

The Leveller.

A new find, not sure where it comes from. Tasty, dark, heavy ale. A few of these would see be finished I think. A nice sipping beer for sure. Got an almost oaty feel to it, caramel and/or toffee too.

St Austell's Tribute.

Classic. Cornish, from St Austell. Have had a few of these from various pubs in Cornwall (Bodmin, Padstow, Bude) and bottled everywhere. Love it. Fresh, fruity, mellow. A great summers beer, totally reminds you of Cornwall and the setting sun over the Atlantic.

[Music] Death In Vegas & Iggy Pop - Aisha

Slightly harrowing video with a twist. Love this song, just a shame the video edit is so cut down that it loses some of the funkiness.

[Cycling] August Round Up.

August was a good cycling month for me.  After not really getting out in June due to holidays, and July to a lesser extent due to illnesses and work, it was nice to see August total reach 181 miles, the highest since May.  

The road bike saw a lot of action and I found some new routes and loops to add onto my rides.  The longest I managed was 31miles on a wet Saturday morning - but it was a lovely ride, looking forward to getting some more distance work in during the winter.  My only concern is taking the road bike out in the wet, windy and dirty conditions, so I might have to fall back on the MTB for some road work, maybe.

Speak on the MTB, he only got out 3 times apparently although it seemed like more.  I found another new bit of Thorndon to cycle round which includes a killer incline that I still have to spin in the lowest gear.  The MTB is still not the happiest bunny, I think I really need to get a new seat post and give it a proper once over and lubing.

Not sure what September will bring.  No leave planned and the weather will be closing in, so more wetter rides and more windy rides will be the order of the day.  Also, with the kids going back to school, the I think Thorndon will be quieter and that means I should be able to go there and work on the MTB more.

The burning question is... do I need a 3rd bike for use in the winter on the roads?  Maybe a cheap eBay hybrid with 700c wheels? ;)

August's Cycling Totals:

• Total Duration = 11h 46m 11s
• Total Distance = 181.07 mi
• kCal burned =9336
• Average Speed = 15.18 mi/h
• Average Pace = 4m 1s/mi
• Elevation Gain = 7595 ft
• Elevation Loss = 7785 ft
• Activities = 12 (9 Road, 3 MTB)

You should be able to chekc out my rides here: http://www.runtastic.com/en/users/Toby-Marsh-2

[Music] UNKLE Feat. Josh Homme - Restless

From their 2007 album "War Stories".

[Books] Ira Levin - The Boys From Brazil

Picked this up in the Amazon Kindle Summer Sale for 99p.  Heard about the book before and knew about its almost classic status so it was a no brainer to download it.

I loved this book.  Really simple and easy to read, nice and short but all the elements of a cracking story are there.  It concerns a plot by exiled Nazis, looked after by ODESSA, who are working for Josef Mengele (The "Angel Of Death") on his plan to bring about a new era of Nazism and the rebirth of the Aryan Race.  The plot is looked into by a Jewish Nazi hunter called Lieberman (who seems to be styled on real-life hunter Simon Weisenthal and his ilk).  The plot Mengele has in place involves the death of 94 men aged 64-66 in various countries.  He enlists 6 other former SS men to help him; but his plot is exposed by a young Nazi hunter who manages to get some information to Lieberman before Mengele snuffs him out.  Lieberman's quest to quash the plot takes him to

A great time killer, you could easily knock the book off in a few hours if you had time to sit down and just read.  I would recommend a joint read of this alongside Forsyth's "The ODESSA File", both of similar length and share a similar theme (the Nazi hunting bit, not the science bit).