David Morris – brassedoff.net

No, not me, thank heavens. It was this story reported in the Sheffield Star last night that struck a chord. A cyclist was hit and killed by a Supertram on Ridgeway Road.

I was in Asda picking up some goodies for the lads in the office this morning (it’s my birthday on Monday, but I couldn’t take cakes and buns in on Monday ‘cos I’ll be on my new bike hopefully!) and I queried something the checkout operator said to a colleague. It turened out that the chap that was killed was the ex-partner of her daughter or some such relationship.
It sort of brought the tragedy a little bit closer. The guy had only just started cycling to work again in the last week or so to get fit having, in the past, cycled much more.

Although it doesn’t look as if this was, as such, a traffic collision, it brings it home to one just how vulnerable we are when on our bikes in heavy traffic. Drivers messing about lighting cigarettes, changing radio stations, using mobile phones (yes, I know it’s illegal, but go look how many people still do it) or even just indulging in conversations with other occupants of the vehicle. It’s easy to get distracted and miss that comparitively small cyclist in traffic. Sure, high-vis clothing helps. Also, not riding ‘defensively’ as I heard it described helps. Be in a place on the road where other road users expect to see you, because that’s where they’ll be looking:

“Our message is that you are part of the traffic and you have the right to be there, just like any other vehicle in the road,” says Pedal Ready cycle trainer Mike Selway.

(extracted from PedalPushers web site)

I have a few potentially ‘hairy’ places on my trip to work. You have to treat them with respect, have eyes in the back of your head and make sure you’ve got an escape route, so you are less likely to get sandwiched between two moving vehicles.

Having said that, you can’t beat the feeling of openness, the fresh air and quite simply the buzz you get from being on the bike.

Now, I hope I can get the doule-buzz from riding a new Specialized Globe City 6.1 next week, if it’s been delievered to Nottingham…

Just a quickie… gardencam is now working again. For some reason, the first time in several years, it had thrown its teddies out. THey are now well and truly back in again.

ALso, my new bike might not be here for Saturday :-( Apparently, some confusion over the ordering on Saturday when I was in the shop, despite me paying for it in full. It is, allegedly now on order and should be here on Saturday.

I’ve also ordered my birthday present. More on that one next week though!

I’m currently on the train on the way back from Nottingham, home of Boots The Chemist (anyone been reading the news?) and I’ve paid up for a new bike. I was hoping to be able to get my employers to buy it under the Cycle To Work scheme but I don’t think it’s going to happen. So, I’ve gone for it anyway and paid up for a new Specialized Globe City 6.1. Charcoal grey or black (I’m not sure ‘cos I haven’t actually seen one yet) with Deore shifters and brakes. It should be ready next Saturday. I can’t wait!

What did you do today? Spend a nice day in the sunshine?

I did, on board the Seth Ellis assisting with a charter for a young lad’s 8th birthday. Him, seven of his friends, Mum, Dad and another parent wanted a four hour cruise from the Gate Inn and back, and we in the guise of the Chesterfield Canal Trust were happy to oblige on what was probably the nicest day so far this year.

It was my second trip out on the boat and my longest. We got to go through Retford, through Whitsunday Pie Lock, Retford Town Lock and stopped just above West Retford lock for lunch. The end of the outward leg was just under the railway bridge where we winded and headed back for base.

I had hoped to try and map out the journey using my Garmin GPS, but before I left the house this morning, I picked up a pair of rechargeable batteries which turned out not to be charged up, and the batteries gave up the ghost after about an hour. Hopefully I can recover some of the track though.

Other than the good behaviour of our guests, the highlight of the afternoon was dealing with this little incident…

The green thing at the crazy angle across the cut is a BW workboat which had come adrift from its moorings. We had to shift it because we had to be the other side of it, and whenever there’s a bit of fun to be had, you can bet there’s a gongoozler or two nearby! I can’t quite work out whether Terry’s about to pull his hat over his eyes in an effort to make it all go away.

Typically, the ratty ropes on the workboat weren’t long enough to throw to the bank, so we were faced with nudging it closer to the bank using the Seth Ellis. It turned out that the stern mooring spike had come out of the bank because when Terry retrieved the rope, it was still attached to the spike… fortunately.

After the best part of an hour or so, we managed, with a little additional help from a nearby resident, to tie the boat back up. We couldn’t get it any closer to the bank though as it was low in the water at the stern and the canal was quite shallow. It made for an interesting diversion though.

I’m about to lose an old friend.

No, don’t get too sentimental. this is definitely mineral rather than animal or vegetable.

It’s my old Dawes Off-Limits mountain bike of around 16 years vintage – the one I use for commuting from my Mums house every day to work.

I’ve noticed increasingly over the last couple of weeks that the chain has been starting to slip. I’d put it down to a stiff link. After all, it doesn’t get a deal of maintenance other than a wipe down and a squirt of oil after a good dousing in the rain, and general wear and tear replacement (tyres, innertubes and brake blocks).

The slipping problem came to a bit of a head last night as I left work. I pushed down on the pedals, the chain slipped and I nearly fell of the damned thing, not to mention being awfully close to crushing a more delicate part of my anatomy on the headset… I’m not sure which would have been worse. On reflection, I think I’d opt for the fall rather than the nutcracker :)

Anyway, back to the story…

After another couple of bad slips on the way back to Handsworth last night, I decided to have a better look at it to see if I could identify the problem.

It’s wear and tear of a terminal nature. It’s a 21-speed bike with a triple chain ring, and the teeth on the middle chainring (which does get probably most of the hammer) in places have almost worn away to such a point that the chain won’t hold on them under pressure.

As I spend a fair amount of time cycling in heavy traffic, anything that might unbalance me whilst I’m riding has to be classed as a danger, so some action is called for.

Over time, the chainrings, chain and rear cassette all wear in line with each other, so after this length of time, a replacement chainring wouldn’t mesh with the old chain. So, I’d be looking at new chainrings, a new chain and a new rear cassette. Because I want something reliable that will go for a few years, it’s pointless looking at a cheap set, and something like a Shimano Deore groupset apparently (accord to the guys at JE James) will be a good couple of hundred quid. (the bike currently has a Deore groupset on it).

The upshot of this is that I’m going to better off replacing the bike completely.

As I have two bikes (I keep a mountain bike at home for the weekends and evenings), I think I’m going to go for a hybrid for commuting. If I can get work geared up to pay for it under the Cycle to Work scheme I will do, but to be honest, I’m not holding my breath at the moment.

It won’t stop me going for a look around tomorrow though. James’ have apparently got a good range of hybrids at the Sheffield shop, so I’ll pop over there tomorrow morning and see if I can get them to do me a written quote. If I can’t get a decision from work by the middle of next week, I can see me being a few hundred poorer by the weekend! Seeing as I paid around £650 for the Dawes sixteen years ago, I don’t think it owes me a lot, do you?
On Sunday, I’m assisting with a four hour charter on the Seth Ellis out of Retford for the Canal Trust. Hopefully the weather will be as good as it has been so far this week.

Every so often, you come across a gem of a place, most often by accident. So it was, whilst looking for open windmills (it’s a long story involving cooling towers) that I came across Thaymar Ice Cream yesterday. It was a bit ironic because some time ago, driving back from Jodrell Bank, we saw an Icecream Farm and threatened to try and find it again. That was somewhere in the wilds of Cheshire, and when we did try to find it on the web, we had no luck, and it’s miles from here. Thaymar is just the other side of Worksop, no more than 25 minutes away by car!

They’ve got a spotless tearoom, do a great selection of hot meals, lighter snacks, salads, local produce, and over 30 different home-made icecreams.

On a different subject now, it’s time for the allotment to get some priority. Mrs Woolforbrains went yesterday whilst Daniel and myself were at York and was eager to tell us that we’ve got visitors.

As well as a mouse (a field mouse by the sounds of it), we also have

…tadpoles! They were only confined to the jar for photographic purposes. As soon as I’d snapped them, they went back in the bath that they call home. It’s a turquoise bath that the previous allotment occupant had sunk in the ground. It also plays home to a variety of aquatic plants including Daniel’s pitcher plant.

Whilst doing a bit of digging, compost spreading and general tidying up, I spotted every gardener’s friend, sunning itself on an old post:

I couldn’t unfortunately get a better shot though without putting it in my shadow. It did however provide an opportunity for a nice closeup with a nice depth of field effect.

Finally, I’ve had someone contact me enquiring if I knew anything about the old Killamarsh and Upperthorpe railway station, so I’ve been doing a bit of digging on his behalf.

Keep visiting for more news on our tadpoles and whether I did manage to find Phil’s missing station!

Sun’s shining. Nothing in particular to do. What shall Daniel and David do today? “Dan, do you want to go to the Railway Museum on the train?” “Oh, yes, yes”.

So, Mrs Woolforbrains dropped us off at Sheffield railway station, complete with its new water feature

…which some have, ironically bearing in mind the subject of the last post on here, called ‘the urinal’.

We usually have a trip to the museum at least once a year. We’re probably a bit earlier than usual this year, but that didn’t matter. One of the new features at the museum is the Yorkshire Wheel (hence the posting title).

It’s not as big as the London Eye, is probably a damned sight cheaper and is easier (for us) to get to. It costs £6 for adults, £4 for children (don’t know about concessions). Prebooking isn’t necessary. According to the museum staff, the busiest it’s ever been had queues of around 30 minute, and it wasn’t busy today. We’re British. We can queue.

The trip offers stunning views over the historic city of York and the surrounding area.

Looking North towards the Minster:

…and South down into the railway station:

The only problem is that the windows are tinted perspex, and by now are a little foggy with all the tiny scratches the stuff picks up during the rough and tumble of daily life. That apart, it was a fun experience, and the museum is, as ever, one of my favourite places to visit.

Of course, if you don’t like heights, don’t look down!

It got to about 5pm this afternoon and I was moping. For the uninitiated, this is the state when I’ve been out all day, busy doing other stuff (in this case, out with Daniel for most of the day, leaving Mrs Woolforbrains to engage in some wool-related activities) and I’ve run out of things I want to do. It’s not that I’m short of things to do, it’s just that at that particular point in time, there’s nothing I actually want to do. I was moping.

The usual trick when in this state is to get out on two wheels, but in this case, I couldn’t find my cycling gloves. I reckon I’ve got at least four pairs, and believe or believe it not, I think they’re all at my mums (incidentally, it’s her birthday today – Happy Birthday, Mum) where they end up because of my daily cycle commute from her house to work. the lack of gloves was just causing me to mope even more.

Eventually, I gave up, got changed, put my hi-vis jacket on (yes, it was warm, but I prefer to be seen and sweat a little than be cool and possibly not seen) and got the bike out of the garage with the intention of going down to Rother Valley Park for a spin.

Out towards the West End pub and down Boiley Lane, when I got to the old railway, instead of turning right, I headed left towards Renishaw with half a thought of heading to Staveley. That plan went out of the window when I got to Renishaw. Instead of staying on the old railway, I transferred on to the canal towpath so see how far I could get. You can certainly see where (presumably) the WRGies had been over Christmas, clearing back scrub. Normally, I would have gone back on to the railway, but this time, stopped on the towpath until eventually I came to a metalled road which turned out to be the access to the small sewerage works. Turning left brought me to its intersection with another road. Turning left again, I carried on this road, past a farm and into a residential area which brought me into Renishaw opposite the new development. This was a new ground for me – I’d never been down that road before, or on that part of the towpath either.
From here, the main road towards Eckington, over the canal, past the golf club eventually to Atco crossroads. Although there were easier ways back, up the hill towards Morrisons – a nasty little climb, first gear all the way up without stopping, past Morrisons to Halfway, right at the roundabout and back into Killamarsh.

“So, what’s all this got to do with urinals”, I hear you ask?

Remember a couple of posts ago, I wrote about the sale at Havenplan?

Well, as I got into Killamarsh, I turned right up Station Road with the intention of having a look what was left in the yard. There wasn’t much, but guess what? Yes, the urinals I photographed last time were still there!

(Apologies for the photo quality – I’d only got my Blackberry with me)

As you can see, there doesn’t look to be a lot left!

Anyway, from Havenplan, up to the top of Station Road, behind Old Hall Farm and up the lane, over the “Clog and Knocker” (what my Dad said they used to call the other old railway through Killamarsh that ran out to Spinkhill in his days as a railway fireman), a short haul up the footpath behind the esate, on to the main road and pretty much that was it, back home.

Not only had I had a good blast out on the bike, but I wasn’t moping any more and I’d the material for a blog post.

All I need now is a drink and a shower, probably in that order!

I took Daniel to see the new Rowan Atkinson / Mr Bean film on Saturday. As usual, we went to the Virgin Megaplex ^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H UCG ^H^H^H Cineworld multiplex at Centretainment, across from the Arena.

It used to be a real pain buying tickets there if, like me, you like to get them beforehand to avoid queuing. They had possibly the worst automated telephone system in the world. At least now you can book online before you go. Ok, there’s a 50p charge for the privilege, but it’s worth it to avoid the queue.

So, one adult ticket, one junior ticket and a booking charge: around £11. No problems with that.

Then you get to the cinema and claim your tickets from the automated ticket-spitting machine and go for some drinks.

I know Mrs Woolforbrains feels exactly the same way I do about this.

Small soft drink: £2.25

Medium soft drink: £2.45

Large soft drink: £2.65

So, two small drinks = cost of a ticket. Stick a couple of boxes of popcorn on that and you’ve forked out another £10 or thereabouts and that reasonably priced afternoon at the cinema is starting to look expensive. When Mrs Woolforbrains takes Daniel sometimes to the cinema during school holidays, they go for the pre-noon showings when the tickets are cheaper. Then, the drinks and popcorn cost more than the blessed tickets.

Answer me this please. Are Cineworld (who incidentally are a French outfit I think – certainly lumps of the code and some of the page titles on the web site are in French which could be a bit of a giveaway – not that I’m too anti-French at the moment) in the job of selling a cinematic experience to their customers or royally ripping them off for soft drinks?

It looks like the rip-off has it on current evidence.