Gumby

Google Chart API

2008-08-05T16:22:00.002+01:00

google chart api - neat free way to produce charts and graphs. No API key needed.

- Hello World example
http://chart.apis.google.com/chart?cht=p3&chd=t:60,40&chs=250x100&chl=Hello|World

- java wrapper for the google chart api
http://code.google.com/p/javagooglechart/

- api explained
http://code.google.com/apis/chart/

*nix Screen

2008-08-05T11:00:00.002+01:00

Screen is a neat way to keep your processes running when you need to disconnect from the machine or have a dodgy connection which gets reset (my case!).

You run screen on a *nix machine that is always on and it keeps your processes running even if the connection dies or if you want to disconnect.

My setup:

~/.screenrc

startup_message off

# hardstatusline
hardstatus on
hardstatus alwayslastline
#hardstatus string '%{= kG}%-Lw%{= kW}%50> %n%f* %t%{= kG}%+Lw%< %{= kG}%-=%c:%s%{-}'
hardstatus string '%{= kG}%-Lw%{= kW}%50> %n%f* %t%{= kG}%+Lw%<'

screen -t ubuntu3 0
screen -t ubuntu3 1
screen -t ubuntu2 ssh ubuntu2

Usage:

to start:
screen

to reconnect to an existing screen session
screen -x

to switch screens (n is the screen number)
Ctrl+a n

to close a screen
Ctrl+d

Note: if the machine hosting screen reboots then the screen session is lost

More info here:
http://www.askbjoernhansen.com/2006/02/07/happy_unix_screen.html
http://www.rackaid.com/resources/linux-tutorials/general-tutorials/using-screen/
http://nigel.mcnie.name/blog/how-i-use-screen

On Mac OS X, probably need to make an adjustment so your backspace key works:
http://www.pyrosoft.co.uk/blog/2008/04/28/fixing-the-backspace-key-with-os-x-and-linux-screen/

Sentencing

2007-09-20T21:33:00.000+01:00

The person that was caught using my drivers license and debit/credit card to purchase various consumer goods is due to be sentenced for fraud and other charges at the end of the month.

Pleased to see some justice, even if there's been no sign of my stolen car or posessions.

New Car Soon!

2007-09-20T21:25:00.000+01:00

My new FN2 Civic Type-R is due on September 30th, this is the replacement for my EP3 Civic Type-R that was stolen in June.

The steering on the new car is much better than the old one and also has some toys - cruise control, iPod, auto headlights, auto wipers, folding mirrors, climate control...

1 extra HP too, taking it to 198HP, but no turbo unlike most of the hot hatches :-)

Opted for a black one, rather than the heavily marketed red.

Live!

2007-09-20T21:17:00.000+01:00

The project I have been working on for the past six months went live last week:

freewiretv.com

New Camera

2007-08-06T01:01:00.000+01:00

Got myself a Nikon D40 to replace the Casio EXZ-50 that was stolen along with my car.

Can take some really nice pictures with it, still learning!

Plenty of new photos at http://www.flickr.com/photos/gumby

Stolen

2007-07-02T11:05:00.001+01:00

CIMG2482
Originally uploaded by dgunthor.

Stolen on Friday from Porthcawl.

Uncle Dave

2007-06-27T12:01:00.001+01:00

DSCN2188
Originally uploaded by dgunthor.

My Niece :-)

Megan Rose Gunthorpe at 7.37 on Monday 25th June.

Weighing in at 7 lbs 3oz

Type R

2007-05-24T22:47:00.001+01:00

CIMG2483
Originally uploaded by dgunthor.

Photo of the new car (after being cleaned)...

Only getting 25mpg but loads of smiles per mile, yay!

New Wheels

2007-05-02T23:38:00.000+01:00

Picking up my Honda Civic Type-R on Friday, trading in the Ford Focus I've enjoyed for the past 6 years!

Summer Tees

2007-04-06T15:50:00.001+01:00

CIMG2388.JPG
Originally uploaded by dgunthor.

Wow, totally new ball game playing golf on the summer tees today - the ball is bouncing down the fairway and most of the holes are longer, no new course records today but hit some nice shots!

El Chorro

2007-04-04T22:40:00.001+01:00

Sign of the times
Originally uploaded by dgunthor.

Just got back from spain and added some photos - set is here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/gumby/sets/72157600047752673/

NC30 Sold

2007-03-30T00:21:00.001+01:00

CIMG1847.JPG
Originally uploaded by dgunthor.

Rode up to Silverstone last week and delivered my 1989 NC30 to Graeme France, he prepares 400cc motorbikes for racing - mine is becoming a race bike!

I've had two motorbikes for 6 months or more, good to finally get back to one :-)

The NC30 was an awesome bike, it will be missed!

Up the wall

2007-03-30T00:19:00.000+01:00

Pic of Gareth Jones and Matt climbing at WICC last week.

Matt & Rhi Engaged!

2007-03-30T00:16:00.000+01:00

Slightly old news but Matt Hirst and Rhiannon are now engaged, they've been going out for years and years!
(Just going through some pics on my phone)

New Job

2007-03-25T21:49:00.000+01:00

Starting a new job tomorrow - I've joined Abercynon based Inuk Networks as a Senior Software Engineer. They are a recent startup company offering IPTV, VOIP and broadband. I've been told I'm in charge of broadband and data, should find out more tomorrow...

This is the closest job I have ever had to where I live, it's only 7 miles away and is ideal cycling distance. Should be a good excuse to get back on the push bike!

Peter Moore's Stag Weekend

2007-03-25T21:47:00.001+01:00

CIMG1875.JPG
Originally uploaded by dgunthor.

Flew up to Glassgow with Rupert [Sullivan] on Friday for Peter's stag weekend - we used to work with him at Orange.

Detoxing and resting tonight after drinking on Friday, Karting, Scotland v Georgia, curry and much merryment last night!

Finally got to bed after playing killer till the wee small hours, the clocks going forward not helping!

The Radisson Hotel was great though, lovely food and a thoughtful touch of being open till 1pm today for breakfast, yay!

Golf last weekend

2007-03-15T13:57:00.000Z

Matt and I both played well last weekend at Castle Heights, I managed a birdie 3 at this often problematic hole.

Photos

2007-03-13T00:59:00.000Z

I've added some photos to flickr of my recent trip to Boulder, CO.

You can see them here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/gumby/sets/72157594585117822/

Boulder, CO

2007-02-25T16:32:00.000Z

I'm in Boulder, Colorado at the moment. Here visiting Nick and Diana and doing some skiing too :-)

I'll add some photos and more info on my return...

Tax Return Submitted - Early

2007-01-31T22:24:00.000Z

Got it done, a good 1hr and 40mins before the deadline, HMRC website was under load to say the least and wasn't failing too gracefully - had one page with just some large red font text "Socket Error", oh dear. It's not a trivial task I'll admit.

Bonus was it was way less than I'd budgeted, yay!

Swim TT

2007-01-31T15:18:00.000Z

Good fun at the Cardiff Triathletes 400m swim time trial last night - some controvesy!

It was two swimmers side by side per lane for the timed 16 length affair. Ex winter league leader (and now banned from triathlon) Brian 'I'll swim through you' Hawkins used up what could only be described as 100% of the shared lane, leaving poor Andy Pearce swimming under the lane rope.

Afterwards Brian said "He was lucky to have the lane rope, I wanted him out into the next lane. I like a bit of personal space."

Andy was too shocked to comment, he hasn't spoken since.

Meanwhile, Pete Beaumont claims he took part in a timed 400m swim in Sweden while on his arctic expedition, but I can't see it really. He'll have to accept maximum penalty points for a no-show and give up his second place.

Personally this hasn't helped my chances, I'm stil waaaaayyyy down the batting order. Anyone for tennis?

Oh, I did 6:36 for 400m
That's not far off my PB, not bad for the training I've done lately - not much! (Just swimming really)

The Resurrection

2007-01-30T17:07:00.000Z

Cartman has been replaced by baldrick while I source a replacement hard drive.

Baldrick was a Win XP box, but now it's dual boot to Suse Linux and I see no need to boot to Windows except perhaps for Photoshop occasionally (should get a Mac license instead).

That makes me Windows free, yay! No Vista for me thanks, I'll be sticking to secure, scriptable operating systems.

If only I can find a reliable hard drive? The software raid that was running on baldrick prior to dual-boot hit a glitch and wasn't effective, great.
I don't really want to go to the expense of the decent raid levels where you need 5 disks to reliably have 1!

Cartman Dead

2007-01-26T18:17:00.000Z

My Suse Linux machine, Cartman, has died today, rest in peace. New hard drive will follow the burial. Pleased that I had automatic backups running and a wiki detailing how to install/configure it all.

It's still a time consuming hassle I could do without though!

Running Return

2007-01-26T18:15:00.000Z

Just been for a 20min run - first run since before xmas when my knee/hamstring was causing extreme pain. Feel great now after it, no problems or twinges, hopefully a good sign that a month and a bit of rest has let it heal.

I'll build up the time/distance slowly and will also try cycling on the turbo trainer.

Preventing Comment Spam

2007-01-22T12:47:00.000Z

New Google link attribute to help prevent comment spam - read the Google article here

Google bot indexer will avoid these user provided links for ranking algorithms etc, the idea being that there is then no point in creating spam links.

It's worthwhile having a confirm image on the comment submission form too to avoid bot comments in the first place.

Weekend Pics

2007-01-22T00:02:00.000Z

Sunny & Blustery Golf

Matt & I both managed a respectable score despite the interesting conditions - course is still really wet in places. Nice to have the sun out though.

Waterfall walk

Can't beat the sound of flowing water.

O'Sullivan Victorious

Ronnie finished up quickly - so quickly I missed the end of the match!

Discovered the zoom function on my Nokia 6280 - RTFM! Mostly digital zoom - better to move closer to the object it seems. Still, pretty neat for a phone.

BB Jade takes some (racist?) stick

2007-01-19T11:57:00.000Z

ROFL: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/01/19/goody_crucified/

DIY- it's that time of year!

2007-01-18T23:12:00.000Z

Extra Kitchen Storage

New carpet ordered for stairs & landing

Apple TV versus Mac Mini

2007-01-17T10:46:00.000Z

Interesting comparison here.

Wireless printing and disk storage

2007-01-15T14:05:00.000Z

Available with the new Airport Extreme Base Station:
http://www.apple.com/airportextreme/

Plug your USB printer and USB external hard disk into this wireless hub (which also has 3 x RJ45 LAN ports) for wireless printing and disk storage, neat.

£119 is a fair cost but wireless printing and disk storage (NAS) is really useful.

Works on PC or Mac (Bonjour required - available on the provided install CD for Windows). I assume should work fine on Linux also.

Weekend Pics

2007-01-15T13:55:00.000Z

Looking @ sofas

New shelving under stairs

Nice weather for golf

Redecorating

2007-01-12T22:46:00.000Z

Finished painting and fitting new carpet under the stairs this week...

Motorbike for sale

2007-01-12T19:13:00.000Z

My 1989 Honda VFR400 NC30 is for sale...

Looking for £750 for the bike, £999 including a load of spare parts including swing arm and engine.
Open to offers too, must be sold.

Apple TV

2007-01-10T16:05:00.000Z

Apple TV was announced yesterday, a way to watch downloaded tv shows and movies on your TV as well as view your photos and listen to iTunes.

Looks great, a good incentive to get a HD TV? 40GB hard disk won't hold too many movies though. This might not be a problem if streaming from other PCs works well.

Available in Feb, looking forward to a demo at an Apple Store.

More info at Apple Store.

WICC

2007-01-09T09:19:00.000Z

I Climbed at the Welsh International Climbing Centre last night with Gareth Sheppard - he's back in Cardiff, must have been 2 years at least since my last visit there!

The wall is under new management, not sure how long they've been holding the reigns but they seem to be making some changeds. The two grey feature walls are being revamped - one of them has been stripped of all panels.

The bouldering wall located in the main centre is now taller too.

No climbing shoes were available to hire despite it being not that busy which was quite suprising.

Suprised myself by climbing 8 routes from 5a to 6b and not getting completely pumped!

Rupert's Birthday

2007-01-09T09:11:00.000Z

Out in Bristol last Saturday, some drunken pics...

Tech.co.uk launched

2007-01-05T11:50:00.000Z

Future Publishing's new Technology website has just launched - I was part of the team that worked on this from July-Oct last year.

http://www.tech.co.uk/

Looks good!

Customer Service

2007-01-05T09:52:00.000Z

Interesting and entertaining example of poor customer service if you've got a spare few minutes:

customer service email exchange

2007

2007-01-05T09:50:00.000Z

Going to make a concerted effort to start blogging again, posts have been patchy at best over the past few months!

Anyhows, Happy New Year!

Uncle Dave

2006-12-08T09:09:00.000Z

Congratulations to my brother Martin and his wife Jane, they have just had their 12 week scan and all is looking good. Baby due around June 24th...

Approaching Handicap?

2006-10-20T19:53:00.000+01:00

Played Golf late this afternoon with Karl. We just squeezed in 18 holes at Castell Heights before it got dark, although the last hole was hard to play due to the fading light and I lost one ball!

I was on fire today, shot round in 83, 11 over par, 6 over for the out nine and 5 over for the back nine. Even holed a 25 foot put for a par and got a birdie too!
Managed to par the 16th hole as well, can take 10 shots on that nasty bleeder on a bad day.

The normal hook of my shots even let up for a few straight ones - a firmer grip seemed to help.

Now, do I turn pro or stick with IT? Hmmm...

Here's a pic of some of the many varieties of mushrooms on the course, I've not tried any!

Update

2006-09-14T21:40:00.000+01:00

Oops, been ages since my last post!

Ok, quick update of what's been happening...

- I got a new motorbike - Honda RVF400 to replace my 1989 Honda VFR400 which has seen better days but has served well for 6 years or so and covered 100,000 miles!

- Stopped triathlon - I called an early end to the season after Alcatraz and the European Champs - had been training and racing lots and in need of a break. So...

- Not sure if I'm going to race triathlon next year yet, will enjoy the break till making a decision. Am very tempted not to be training 6 days a week and not seeing anyone!

- Been playing golf the past four weekends, enjoying the change! Starting to string a few decent shots together too. Will hopefully get a round in at Gowerton with Dad and Sam soon.

- Been rock climbing with Matt too, went to the gap last weekend, ace, can still climb but little stamina!

- Have installed a new Ethernet router at home and an Apple Airport Express - this enables me to play music wirelessly through different rooms of the house on iTunes. Ace!

- Still been doing some swimming - was going on Thurs with Bath Amphibians, this has now been replaced with Hockey - pre season training has started and is a really nice change

- Have been running a few times a week with Rik and Harriet. Might well do the Bristol Half Marathon this weekend (just to keep others company, not going for a time or running fast!)

- Have been using iChat to video chat with Nick and Diana in the USA, well cool.

- Mark Norton is back at the end of the month after a year in Chicago. Reena is back already and has got a job in a Hospital in Oxford, well done! Will be good to catch up.

- Contract is due to end at the end of this month, great to have a disposable income again. Might be a small chance of a short extension, not holding out for one though. Might do some more work with Cyclopaedia, or may get a new contract somewhere in the UK. Will apply for some more contracts tonight and in the coming days.

Wow, I guess that's enough of an update for now... hopefully the next post will be soon.

Leaving the dark side...

2006-08-03T22:19:00.000+01:00

Here's my first post from my new apple macbook!

This seems ideal, it's unix based and on an intel platform so should be sweet.

Firefox is installed, openoffice in progress and more software to follow i'm sure. I like it so far but feel slightly lost - keyboard shortcuts for normal things like shift & end or home don't work! i'm sure there are apple equivalents though.

Hopefully Sam, Matt and Nick can offer some mac help to a newbie :-)

Wireless networking is not sorted at the bristol residence yet, but an ethernet cable does the job for now!

Wow, just sync'd my Nokia 6280 via bluetooth with the contacts and calendar on the mac, never, ever got stuff like that to work on my PC!

New residence

2006-07-18T23:56:00.000+01:00

Sunday, I'll move some stuff into a friends house in Totterdown, Bristol, where I'll be renting a room. He lives within a mile of Bristol Temple Meads train station, so I can get to work in about 35mins using the train, this will be bliss compared to a 1hr15 motorbike ride. I could cycle too, but there's no showers in work. If I catch a non intercity train from Bath, I could run home from Keynsham or another station on the way back.

There's triathlon clubs in Bath and Bristol, so plenty of opportunity for some new training partners too.

First week complete!

2006-07-18T23:52:00.000+01:00

Wow, first week went quickly! Really enjoying, great to be at a place of work with likeminded individuals. The work is interesting and varied and I've had a good result already, I'll spare you the techie details though.

first day

2006-07-12T23:03:00.000+01:00

started a new job today!

went for an interview yesterday afternoon and started this morning :-)
working in Bath for Future Publishing (they publish about 120 magazines including a lot of the sport ones and almost all the computing ones).

I have a (just under) 3 month IT contract, yay! which may get extended. (I'm not writing articles or anything!)

Back to W3C School

2006-07-06T18:32:00.000+01:00

Been applying for contract IT jobs since last Friday, so it's been time to get back to School again, specifically to refresh my knowledge of XML, XSL, XSD, RDF, JMS and SOAP.

http://www.w3schools.com/

Back In Training

2006-07-06T00:55:00.000+01:00

This week I've started training again...

Mon - UWIC Run, 5x600m, 4x400m, 3x200m (skipped one 600, one 400)
Tue - Early morning Swim with Gareth, 1750m
Wed - Ride with Julian, reverse Wed C/G, came back with the slow group.

Could feel the endorphins kick in after the ride, cycling seems to do this the best.
I needed this!

European Champs - Race Report

2006-06-27T09:59:00.000+01:00

Sunday was the European Age Group Triathlon Championships in Autun, France...
...and I was very proud to be wearing my Great Britain kit!

174 Brits made up the team, up to 15 in each age group category.

The course was a tough one - wetsuits banned from the swim (I swim much better in a wetsuit, eek!) as the water was 26C, too hot for wetsuits!
It was an unusual start as about 160 people were lined up 1 deep along a pontoon, holding on with one hand ready for the start gun (thankfully it wasn't a diving start - can't dive!). Unlike normal triathlons when I'm faster in the swim than some people, I was quickly reminded that this was the European Champs when most of the competitors vanished into the distance quick smart.
I managed 27mins or so for the swim, slower than with a suit on but more importantly didn't drown despite the lack of a wetsuit.

A good T1 thanks to the fact that there was plenty of room and my lone bike was easy to find! (there were some other bikes around, honest).

Onto the ahem 40Km bike (later told it was in fact 47Km), comprising 2 laps with a 7km climb at the start of each lap and a twisty and then steep downhill back to the start/finish where I hit 45mph without much pedalling!
It kindly rained lightly on the first lap and stayed a little overcast to shelter us Brits from the 33C of the previous day. The second lap was noticably tougher than the first and I was having a ding dong battle with about 4 others until I left them on the final downhill.

A good T2 and I was onto the well spectated 4 lap run around the lake which had one sharp hill every lap - but was very well supported which helped no end! (thanks Vic and Simon Osborne's wife!) Sponges and water stations were numerous as it was hot for the first 3 laps until praise the lord it started to rain and I started to run faster as a result. Then it tipped down! Not so good for those still on the course!

A fellow Brit informed me after the race that the run was infact 11.1Km - he had a Garmin GPS system. Felt much longer than that!

Really enjoyed the experience, I was there to take part and not to get a medal - not often I'll get to race in GB kit! Highly recommended.

I came in 99th/156 of the senior men wave (20 to 40yr olds) and about 30th/50 in my age group (so almost a medal, not!)

1.5km/47km/11.1km
GBR 00081 GUNTHORPE DAVID 00:27:18 (116th), 01:25:38 (81st), 00:47:01 (100th), 02:39:57 (99th overall senior men)

FRA 00053 BANTI HERVE 00:19:54 (8th), 01:15:38 (2nd), 00:40:12 (13th), 02:15:44 (winner)
GBR 00084 LEES EUAN 00:21:42 (45th), 01:20:30 (17th), 00:40:20 (14th), 02:22:32 (first british finisher)

European Champs

2006-06-22T22:38:00.000+01:00

Off to Autun, France in the morning for the European Triathlon Champs (Olympic distance) on Sunday, 3pm (2pm BST).

Racing for the Great Britain age group team, so I'll be in GB kit, yay! :-)

Looking forward to it, not planning to medal but to enjoy the experience!

The elite race is on the Saturday and I'm taking a camera, so should hopefully get some good shots!

Fresher

2006-06-22T19:44:00.000+01:00

Well, feeling more fresh now I'm pleased to say :-)

Starting to get more of a routine together and been enjoying cooking again. Nice to have the time to do it!

Not been training that much, been more sociable and caught up on a few things around th e house etc with some relaxing to boot!

Planning some more social escapades and going to ease up on the racing for a bit.

Pleased I stepped down as chairman, feel a bit guilty but someone else will pickup the reigns I'm sure. Already enjoying just going to swimming and not having to do anything else! Will also be sorting out work too...

Body and Mind

2006-06-16T00:27:00.000+01:00

Training/Racing is a funny thing - if you've ever trained a lot you may find you reach a point where you have to ignore how you feel, as how you feel and how you perform are two totally seperate things.

Sometimes, the worse you feel, the better you perform and vice versa.

Take Wednesday night, I was shattered and felt like not racing - I forgot my bike helmet when I travelled to the duathlon at Llandow (Simon Osborne kindly went home and fetched me one - thanks!). I normally more organised, honest.

It was my best result of the season so far - 3rd place, I was in about 5th place after the first 2 mile run, got up to 2nd place on the 8 mile bike, then dropped one place on the final run to Simon Osborne (had to let him beat me - he'd lent me a helmet ;-). This was 40 secs faster than my outing at the same event the previous month!

Weird. However, would be nice to feel 'fresh' at some point soon.

Step Down

2006-06-16T00:08:00.000+01:00

This year has been very hectic with trying to setup a new business. Combine this with training about 6 days a week for triathlon, add in travelling/racing (I've raced 9 times already this season, with more to come), being a best man and living alone (as in I have to do all the chores/cooking/etc) and it leaves me with no time for even normal mundane things like food shopping, cooking, socialising/keeping in touch with friends.

Training can take it's toll normally, I've got on the Great Britain Triathlon Age Group Team this year and I'm training and racing even harder than normal. This can leave me irritable and exhausted without the pressure I feel from work, being chairman, etc.
This can amplify the situation.

I felt I'd almost reached breaking point before I travelled to the USA for the Escape from Alcatraz race. This was a holiday but a packed one and I returned feeling exhausted not rested. Jet lag and training/racing playing their part.

It's time to make some changes and get my life back in order.

I've not been blogging much as I've just been too hectic - today (Thurs) I stepped down as Chairman of Cardiff Tri. This should free me up from a lot of emails, questions, responsibilities and work. I took this on of my own accord and enjoyed it, perhaps took on too much personally, but that's my style, if I do something, I do it well or not at all.

Hopefully someone from the club will step up and take on the role. I've heard that there were good reports about the state of the club at our Cosmeston Triathlon recently. There has been a lot of new members in the last six months! I think the club is viewed as a friendly, welcoming place for novices and experienced triathletes alike, which is great.

I'll still be a member but I'll just take a back seat and handover the reigns...

I should have some free time now to catch up with my socialising and do some cooking, ace. Happy days.

Photos

2006-06-09T18:19:00.000+01:00

I've just added photos from Rhys & Hazel's Wedding and USA to my flickr here

SFO

2006-06-07T04:45:00.000+01:00

Got to San Francisco on Thurs after quickly packing the bike back up that morning.

Spent Thurs and Fri shopping mostly - Timbuk2(.com) have a new shop in the city with one off bags available and popped into apple too (card was declined otherwise would now have a MacBook).

I remembered on Sat that I was here to race at the Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon so checked out the Bike course with help from Mark & Reena who drove me round it - thanks guys!

Sunday was an early start - 5am in order to setup transition and get the bus to the ferry which left at 7am for Alcatraz.
I've posted up a race report on cardifftri.net, but basically had a great race and somehow came 70th/1700! So pleased with that.

The rest of sunday I pedalled over the Golden Gate Bridge with Nick and Di who had rented a tandem and had lunch in Sansaulito for the second time this week. We checked out some Redwood trees in a forest then got the ferry back to the city.

Monday I did some more shopping with Nick and some chilling out too, crashed infront of the TV in the evening after getting my second In'N'Out Burger of the week (fantastic!)
The other guys left today :-( Great to see everyone and shock news - Mark and Reena are engaged - woohoo! Mark proposed at the Grand Canyon. Pic of ring to follow!

Today I've mostly been cycling - left the hotel about 9.45am and got back at 5pm! Headed out down El Camino Real (15 miles of traffic lights till I finally got out of the city!) and then climbed up 84 to Skyline (35) and then opted not to descend to Half Moon Bay as the cold fog was there. This left me screwed as my only way back was via the freeway! Luckily a really sweet guy Frank, 82, drove me past the freeway back to El Camino where I got a burrito to get me home. Battered now!

Need to pack tonight then head out of dodge at 10am for the trip home.

Wed - Bike

2006-06-01T14:15:00.000+01:00

Unpacked the bike today for a pedal with world famous Pro Mountainbiker Nick 'no fat' Stevens. Being a mountain biker he now rides on the road on his full sus Giant with disc road slick wheels. Nice riding around the area, we stayed clear of the hills as I would have died with the altitude.
I've borrowed a nice pair of Zip 303 wheels to use for the race, my bike weighs 15.71lbs with them on, ace!
I'll have to pack the bike up again tomorrow (thurs) for the flight to San Francisco!

Stocked up on goodies from the supermarket - Sunmaid Raisin Bread - used to eat it all the time!, Jalapenos, cookie dough and Peanut Butter M&M's for Zoe (each to their own i guess!)

Everyone flaked out pretty early last night, up at 6.30am - getting better!

Feeling slightly nervous about the race now that we are headed to SFO.

Tue - The Rockies

2006-05-31T13:11:00.000+01:00

Spent the first part of Tuesday shopping in downtown boulder - looking at all the timbuk2 messenger bags in University Bicycles, bought a checked shirt in Billabong and some funky new flip flops [yes I can now throw the old disgusting ones out].

Suitably bankrupt I then lunched with nick in Illegal Pete's - great burrito (could not finish - and should not really, I can already feel the weight piling on!)

Then we headed into the Rocky Mountains National Park - truly stunning scenery with some cool wildlife too - moose, elk and chipmunks! We walked up to the highest point - just over 12000 feet. Actually I ran the first part but did not get very far before pathetically breathless. Stange feeling.

It's a long drive and on the way back we popped into see Diana's father and grandfather in their log cabin - awesome, right in the forest. The most impressive personal coffee maker setup I've seen thus far [Matt would be jealous!].

We stopped off for a great American burger on the way back as it was late by now, yummy.

Up at 5am today, wide awake.

Bolder Boulder 06

2006-05-30T16:48:00.000+01:00

We got up at 5am to cycle downtown to the race start. Race was supremely well organised - never seen anything like it. Free bike racking (like triathlon transition), loads of toilets, security ensuring only correctly bibbed runners were at their correct start. The route was lined with loads of live music and spectators too with a glorious finish in the University's American Football stadium.

I got into the AA wave (2nd of 30 or so) based on my Swansea Bay 10K time last year - no PB expected today at altitude and after a long drunken wedding day, heavy days travel and little sleep!

After 4 miles / 7.5km I finally speeded up from my debilitated jog and felt vaguely human to finish in a negative last 5km split and 46:24 (official time).

Nick and Di ran together and only came in a few mins behind. We grabbed a load of freebies including some t-shirts at the expo then headed for a huge breakfast, even though it felt like time for evening meal!

Also see Nick's Blog here (careful of motion sickness if you watch the video clips!!)

USA

2006-05-30T16:43:00.000+01:00

Got to Boulder, CO late on Sunday night after an epic journey of delays - first I thought I'd miss the flight due to some bad traffic on the M1 (driving to Heathrow from Rhys & Hazel's Wedding in Nottingham). Made the plane though only to watch some guy spanner with the wing for an hour - confidence never high at this point!

Hour delay at London, missed the connection at Chicago, but nice to see another city from the air! 2nd flight was also delayed - we had to return to the gate to pickup some more bags - noone minded this incase it was their bags!

All luggage in one piece, Nick & Di kindly picked me up at we got to bed a little before 3am.

Break[ing Point]

2006-05-25T15:33:00.000+01:00

Thu/Fri/Sat to get through then off to USA for a break.

Time for a long hard think about the future.

I'm training 6 days a week, running a business, chairman of the tri club.
Currently I seem to have no social life, no time to relax and a mountain of work piling up. I rarely get an evening to myself, get paid too little and feel pressured most of the time. I get roped into doing loads at the tri club for no thanks, some others that offer to help actually do, plenty do not - they are 'too busy' - erm, try my life.

Something has got to give, this is not maintainable.

Java contract is on the cards - get back to sensible hours and sensible pay and resign as chairman - let others take the responsibility and spend their free time for no thanks.

I'm going to enjoy my break, that's for sure. Things could well change on my return...

Mon 15th - Rest / Massage

2006-05-15T22:11:00.000+01:00

Ah, nice but strange to do no sport tonight. Lovely to have a leg massage (sports) from trainee Mark, excellent as ever.

Sun 14th - Blaenavon Triathlon

2006-05-15T22:03:00.000+01:00

I know these days to ignore how my body feels as it's rarely a true reflection - you can feel knackered as you go out on the chain gang but can then be the strongest rider!

This morning I did feel a little tired though - this was my 13th day of training on the bounce (I skipped two rest days - one I went surfing and the other was a sea swim).

However, I produced my best result at Blaenavon ever, by 8 minutes! Took about a minute off the swim, which felt comfortable; four minutes off the bike - felt strong on the flat and a bit of a weak kitten on the last hill; and took 3 mins off my best run time - despite walking at all the normal points on the course - you have to, your calves are burning with all the bike & run climbing!

There was a great turnout from Cardiff Tri - 9 of us! More than at the club champs last weekend! (and that's not even counting ex-members Keith Tanneta, Justin Ham and Paul Belcher who were also present)

Photo of the 9 is above:
Top - Left to Right: Steve, Gareth, Andy, Adam, Dominic
Bottom - Left to Right: Ieuan, Dave (Me), Nigel, Miles

Sat 13th - Bike

2006-05-15T22:02:00.000+01:00

Just a quick hours spin on the bike to loosen the legs up for the race tomorrow - Blaenavon Triathlon.

Fri 12th - Sea Swim

2006-05-13T00:41:00.000+01:00

Super high tide at Porthcawl tonight, 8 tri members turning up for the swim - but 3 swimming on their own as they were early (or we were late?)

Felt much further to swim with the tide in, water was pleasant temperature, though Pete (he's knocking on a bit now ;-) was feeling the cold.

Thu 11th - Run & Swim

2006-05-13T00:39:00.000+01:00

Interval run session at WIS with Pete B.

9 min WU
8 x 2 min hard, 3 min walk / easy jog
WD

Tri Swim afterwards, my technique is looking good apparently, though I don't use any force and should! - Tried this and was knackered after 50m!

Wed 10th - 31 Today! (Arse)

2006-05-13T00:35:00.000+01:00

First outing on the Wednesday night chain gang. Different format this year, ride 2 off the front steady on the hills, anything goes on the flat/downhills, all this along to Cowbridge and back to Llantrisant, then all hell breaks loose along Llantrisant Road back into Cardiff.

Did a couple of turns, then found myself scrabbling for Owen Beckett's wheel after the traffic lights at Cowbridge - noone else bothered, so we rode together all the way to the end of Llantrisant Road. I spent more time on his wheel than vice versa, strong lad.

Rich from tri club kindly cooked me some dinner afterwards too :-)

Tue 9th - Tri Swim

2006-05-09T23:05:00.000+01:00

Hard session tonight, Elinor (coach) getting back at me for throwing her in the pool last Thursday!

200WU
10x50 on 1 min
5x100 on 2 min
2x200 on 4 min
5x100 on 2 min
3x50 on 1 min
50WD

2400m

Mon 8th - NIAC Run

2006-05-09T10:36:00.000+01:00

Bit wet out, so headed to the 200m indoor track for 15 x 400m with 90 secs recovery (yikes!)

1.17, 1.42
1.16, 1.44
1.14, 1.45
1.13, 1.45
1.21, 1.39
1.16, 1.43
1.16, 1.42
1.19, 1.40
1.17, 1.43
1.15, 1.45
1.15, 1.44
1.19, 4.38 (200m jog instead of 400m rep - had maxed out on the previous rep)
1.16, 1.44
1.10

Got my breathing up to new levels on some of those. Legs felt ok, lungs working hard.

Sun 7th May - Open Water Swim

2006-05-09T10:02:00.000+01:00

After marshalling at the club's Try-a-Tri event in the morning, 5 of us headed down to Porthcawl for a 1500m sea swim and a bbq. Lush sunny day :-)

Llandovery Triathlon

2006-05-07T21:41:00.000+01:00

Had a good race on Sat, swim was steady, great bike, was flying in the mid & end section and the run went well though may have gone better (could have run harder?) if I had not also run hard the night before. Still, this was only for training.

Miles kindly drove myself, Gareth and Andy. It's often a close race between us and I pipped Gareth by 14 seconds! He and miles have not been training as much as usual though! Still, they all count :-)

Got 6th/75, 3rd on the bike :-)

Back again!

2006-05-07T21:32:00.000+01:00

Jaysus, it's weeks since my last post!

Ok, I'm back, going to start posting more often now. Promise.

It's been a pretty good week - website sales are starting to become more regular, training is going well and getting some good results at races.
Our clubs novice triathlon was today - Try-a-Tri, which went really well. Mark and Jules did a great job organising and we got the results on the internet by 1pm (race finished at 11am!)

It's been quite sunny this weekend and a few of us went for a sea swim at Coney Beach, Porthcawl this afternoon. Water was much warmer than April, though still a little chilly initially. We did some body surfing afterwards too which was ace - pretty big waves and you could catch one most of the way in to shore!
Swim was followed by muffins and instant BBQ on the beach, nice to chill!

Still Alive!

2006-04-19T00:11:00.000+01:00

Oops, not posted here for a long while. I'm still alive and back from a weeks training in Mallorca, which was ace. Photos to follow.

How nice to relax and how sad to feel immediately stressed upon return.

Really need to get a grip on things.

Mon 14th - Run

2006-03-15T00:04:00.000Z

NIAC run tonight, decided against the planned outdoor hill reps as it was a bit nippy out and starting to rain/sleet.

5 x 600m, 300m with 2 min, 1min rest respectively.

After the first 600, the rest were horrid - really hard, talk about running tired.
300's were quite nice by comparison.

1.55, 2.33 recov, 51, 1.34 recov
1.17 (400m only, 3.17, 53, 1.21
2.04, 2.24, 54, 1.36
2.05, 2.29, 55, 1.23
2.07, 2.31, 48

Brian just pipped me on the final 300m, sprinted this, getting faster every 100m.
Maybe I should drop 10km and do 100m? hmmm.

Sunday - everything worked out in the end!

2006-03-14T23:57:00.000Z

Popped to a house warming party Saturday night in Reading - Rupert who I used to work with at Orange, he's moved in with his g/friend Charlotte.

I'd planned to arrive at 6pm, but re-assembling my motorbike took a while and I didn't leave till 6.30. Internet driving directions are officially pants, and being lost on a motorbike is not good - no map, can't drive and talk etc!

Eventually arrived a little before 9.30, I was going to leave at 11pm to get back for a team time trial in the morning. I needed a drink, so after several decided to stay at the party and get up whenever as opposed to 6am to head back. Luckily the TT was cancelled as there had been lots of snow in wales, result!

Got back and managed a nice technique swim at Caerphilly pool:

paddles:
400 easy 3/4 catchup
2x200 work catch, high elbow
4x100 work push phase
8x50 work the transition from catch to push
400 easy 3/4 catchup
300 choice - pull & drills

2300m

Sat 11th - Swim

2006-03-14T23:56:00.000Z

Early morning swim with G-man and Mark at Maindy. Pool was well busy despite assurances from G to the contrary!

Did one of Gareth Thomas's sessions (really like them), about 2.5km.

Thu 9th - Run & NO Swim

2006-03-14T23:53:00.000Z

Fartlek run with Pete and Charlie again, around roath park.

60 min run with 6 efforts of 4 mins in every 10 mins of running.

Swimming was cancelled as some poor soul had vomited in lane 1 prior to our session, oh dear.

Tue 7th - Run & Swim

2006-03-14T23:52:00.000Z

50 min steady run with Pete (& Charlie!) before the tri swim.

Mon 6th - Run

2006-03-14T23:48:00.000Z

NIAC run session tonight, 4 x 6 x 200m with 20 secs recovery between reps and 3 mins between sets.

1st set - 36, 37, 37, 37, 37, 37
2nd set - 35, 37, 38, 37, 37, 37
3rd set - 35, 36, 36, ?, ?, ?
4th set - ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, 29

(Ran out of laps on my watch)

Quite a nice session, as soon as you start a set you finish it due to the short recovery.

Sun 5th - Bike

2006-03-14T23:46:00.000Z

Suprise suprise, the club ride headed out towards Newport (it does on every ride, without fail!) and on to Chepstow, some were off over the Severn Bridge to watch the road race of the same name but myself and a few others headed back into a headwind all the way home.

Now I know why they say "headwind out, tailwind back", as we were truly battered on our return to Cardiff.

3hrs / 55 miles approx.

Sat 4th - Run

2006-03-14T23:42:00.000Z

Dog sitting Charlie this week (Heather & John have gone skiing, lucky gits!)

Took him for a little over an hours steady run up the Taff Trail and back with Brian and Miles (who had missed the early start Audax).

Charlie was battered after 40 mins bless him.

Thu 2nd - Swim

2006-03-02T17:40:00.000Z

Swimming with Cardiff Tri tonight.

St David's Day - Swim

2006-03-02T17:39:00.000Z

Swansea technique swim, need to keep arms wider on entry and use lats more than the shoulders that i'm currently using. Technique is getting better though.

Snow

2006-03-02T17:19:00.000Z

Woke up to a suprise snowfall on Wednesday...

Mon 27th - Run

2006-03-02T17:13:00.000Z

Tough session at UWIC NIAC tonight, nice to be indoors though!

3 x 4 x 400m
4 x 200m

1:17, recovery 1:18
1:14, recovery 1:26
1:14, recovery 1:26
1:14, recovery 4:19

1:15, recovery 1:26
1:15, recovery 4:03 (needed a plaster - heel)
skipped
1:16, recovery 4:13

1:15, recovery 1:29
1:14, recovery 1:25
1:18, recovery 1:26
1:18, recovery 4:31

36.21, recovery 1:09
34.25, recovery 1:14
34.27, recovery 1:20
29.29

Sun 26th Feb - Bike

2006-02-26T22:44:00.000Z

65 miles on the Jif club run, out for well over 4 hours - partly due to Barry taking a lifetime to fix a puncture!

Freezing cold this morning, thanks to Pinky for lending me a gillet, bright sunshine after lunch, lovely.

Changed the oil on the car and motorbike later on and took the forks off the moto - one seal is leaking.
Car MOT tomorrow morning - should be fine, fingers crossed.

Sat 25th - Bike, Run

2006-02-26T22:39:00.000Z

60/65 mile tri bike ride, cold winds. About 4 hrs in the saddle.

Picked up Heather's dog Charlie and took him for a 40min run down the sand dunes at Merthyr Mawr, ace. Some pesky kids took a few shots at me with an air pistol - but missed by miles, twats. Kids today eh?

Spent the evening in with Charlie watching Desperate Houswives - thought it would be rude to leave him seems as I was only looking after him for one night.

Here's a pic of the fella...

Fri 24th - Bike

2006-02-26T22:38:00.000Z

2hrs bike, mostly in the dark / fading light. It's light till quite late now :-)
That's twice this winter i've been out with lights, shocking.

Thu 23rd - Swim

2006-02-26T22:37:00.000Z

Tri swim, erm, 2300m or so i guess.

Wed 22nd - Swim

2006-02-26T18:32:00.000Z

Masters swim.

500WU
main set 2 x 8 x 100m
something else followed by swim down

approx 2500m

Tue 21st - Swim

2006-02-26T18:27:00.000Z

Tri swim tonight, the first time we have the whole pool and an earlier time of 8 till 9pm, pretty good turnout and strange to be in a different part of the pool.

200 Easy 3/4 Catch Up
6 x 50 on 60 sec Building last one sprint

2 x 4 x 200 on 3:45
target 1st 3:15, 2nd 3:10, 3rd 3:05, 4th 3:00
1 min between sets

16 x 25 on 30

2 x ( 50 swim 50 backstroke kick )

2700m

Mon 20th - Run

2006-02-20T22:56:00.000Z

A 30min lap of Roath Park lake to warmup with Pete, then indoors at UWIC for 8x600m

2:02 recovery of 2:46
2:02 2:27
1:58 2:31
2:01 2:27
2:03 2:36
1:56 2:38
1:59 2:31
1:55 warm down

Sun 19th - Bike

2006-02-19T15:41:00.000Z

4hrs, around 60 miles or so. Coast road, Wentwood, Usk, Caerleon and back to Cardiff.
Not many out today - was a bit cold and wet first thing but brightened up :-)

Sat 18th - Bike

2006-02-19T15:40:00.000Z

About 40 miles in 2hrs or so, fastish where possible. Both coast roads and back.

Fri 17th - Run

2006-02-19T15:39:00.000Z

80 min run with Pete up the Taff Trail and back along the canal. Very spring like today :-)

Thu 16th - Swim TT

2006-02-19T15:38:00.000Z

Swim time trial tonight, damn!

Managed a 6:26 which is the same time I posted a few months ago, 50m splits more consistent this time though plus i'm training more at the moment, so quite pleased.

Wed 15th - Swansea Swim

2006-02-19T15:37:00.000Z

Technique, approx 2.5km
No flippers or one flipper used as left toe has been irritated by the weekly hour flipper session.

Tue - Speed Dating

2006-02-19T15:35:00.000Z

Popped down the bay with Pete for Speed Dating, everyone I had spoken too said it would be a good night and it was!

Nervous as hell before hand mind you.

Mon 13th - Run

2006-02-14T00:14:00.000Z

After waking up on the couch (I'd been asleep all afternoon) got down to Roath Park Lake just in time for 10 x hill reps. Lovely, used the first one as a warmup.

Mon 13th - Swim

2006-02-13T23:52:00.000Z

Early morning swim with G (got up a bit late - didn't know where I was this morning)

200WU
3x50 on 60secs
2x15x50 on 60secs (first 2 finger drag, 3rd sprint)
200WD

2050m