[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).

[Stuff] Where' Wall-E.

[Music] Kenny Smith & The Loveliters - Go For Yourself

Some fine soul funk for a Friday.

[Books] Robert Ludlum - The Aquitaine Progression.

Interesting book this one, took me a while to read too but really got me hooked.

I started the book off in paperback form, having liberated it from a same pile of "books for charity" from my parents as Forsyth's "The Devils Alternative"; but after a few chapters I bought an Amazon Kindle (more of that later), so the first book I downloaded was this beast from Ludlum.

I say beast as it clocks in, in paperback form, at about 850 pages; which although not huge, it's the longest book I've read in years.  I usually read books about 400 or so pages as I can never get my mind around reading an epic length book - I'm not sure I have the attention span for it!  but this one, despite the length, really gripped me.

The story follows a lawyer named Joe Converse who is enlisted to help out in a fight against a growing threat of global instability and dictatorship.  As the book is well worth reading, I'm not going to give out any spoilers (even though the book is 27 years old or so!).  I've not read a Ludlum before, so wasn't sure what to expect from his style; but it turns out it's in the classic thriller/spy mould. One thing I did like about this book was its linear progression.  Everything took place in order, no time jumping.  And even more impressively, there were no sub plots to speak off.  Every time the story jumped away from the main Converse character, it was to relay the story of what was happening to the major players at the time, and linked it to the main story directly.  This made it really really easy to read, you could turn off the part of the brain that was trying to link things and work out what was happening elsewhere and just enjoy the ride.

Good character work, you actually like the heroes and dislike the bad guys; although the pointless killing of Converse's father was an odd plot device - it served no point at all and wasn't really wrapped up in at the conclusion of the book (Joe never mentions him again after he finds out he is killed; hell, he at the end when he is looking at his new life he doesn't lament on it at all). Also the sudden change in Joe's wifes character is odd, but explained to some extent. A few too many new faces are thrown in quickly at the start of the final third, but if you are on the ball you can run with it.

It's definitely worth reading this, even at £4.99 on the Kindle it seems a bargain - but even better see if you can find a copy in a charity shop.

[Music] Descendents - Silly Girl [Live]

A perfect slice of 80s punk rock.