The Strathpuffer Trial Run

Yesterday Mike and I took a drive up to Strathpeffer to check out the course for the Strahpuffer 24 race. All weather forecasts showed two rain drops coming out from a grey cartoon cloud so we bravely told ourselves that it would be a good practice for "the real thing".

Leaving at 7am we hit the A9 and had some breakfast at The Inn in Dalwhinnie. It's not somewhere I would normally have chosen but if you are looking to beat the lunacy of Bruar it's certainly worth a try. Besides, it's twinned with Las Vegas according to the sign which should give you some idea of the fun to be had there... It was a time to talk tactics - basically try to work out how many laps to try each at different parts of the 24 hours.

Full of breakfast we carried on to Strathpeffer and called into Square Wheels, the wee bike shop which organises the event. For a little round shop they manage to cram some amount of stuff inside, lots of ways to go into shiny debt. The canny man behind the counter (hmm, how can I get loads of bikers into my shop? In January?) sold us a map and drew the route for us in warning-red. He was also careful to remind us that brake-pads wear out extra quickly on the course; something to do with lots of mica in the soil...

Missing out on using the locked public toilets (tourists don't need to pee out of season) we found our start / finish point and ventured up in the hills. It was wet, very muddy and the course has a real split personality. It was either fairly boring slogging round forestry tracks (which all seem uphill) or incredibly difficult and technical sections with solid rock giving way to thick deep mud in an instant. Some bits were difficult to even see a way through. After 2 laps (managing about 50 minutes for each 8 mile lap) we stopped for some dried fruit and nuts (mmm) but the tea rooms were calling us... We noted how quickly we cooled down off the bikes too. We also realised that the whole "mind your brakes" thing was very real as Mike's rear went from fine to bad to gone... Anyway, time for one more lap then we called it a day.

Once changed we went to Strathpeffer's old railway station which is now collection of shops with a tearoom in the middle where we ate our own weight in soup and bread whle listening to the locals talk drivel. The woman sitting at the table beside us struck up a conversation on hearing we were cyclists - her partner had done it last year. "How many spare bikes are you bringing?" she asked brightly. "At least, brake pads anyway. They say they wear out very quickly..." Even the lady running the shop couldn't resist telling us that she's heard brake pads could wear out very quickly on the course. Message received and understood, everyone!

Arty playing

Playing
Originally uploaded by tcatcarson

We are just back from seeing the family in Tyningham. As the sun was setting we went for a play on the green in front of the house and I got snap happy. This is my new favourite picture of my family :-)

Generous people!

Week one of fund raising and already £175! Thank you all so much and keep it coming!

Strathpuffer24 08

Those of you unfortunate enough to be in my email address book will already have the gist of this, but Strathpuffer24 is a 24 hour mountain bike race held in the forestry near the spa town of Strathpeffer.

Earlier this year, sometime in the spring I think when the buds were beginning to show and winter's chill was fading, I mentioned to Mike that I had bought a mountain bike. A good one, like, with suspension and disk brakes and everything. His eyes narrowed and he asked whether I wanted to take part in an event next January - it sounded like ages away, and full of bravado and warm soup I agreed.

So here we are! January is only 12 weeks or so away... I have kept up my daily cycling to and from work as far as possible - sometimes I need the car to carry stuff and sometimes the motorbike if I have to be somewhere soon after work, but I've pretty much stuck to it, so that has helped me get fitter and faster. On top of this Mike and I have been visiting Glentress and Innerleithen, local mountain bike singletrack developments which, after some initial fear and reservation on my part, is absolutely brilliant fun. Sure we crash, and get knackered, but it's worth it for the downhill sections and the views from the top.

So the Strathpuffer is a reality. We both have a bit of a shopping list - waterproofs and lights seem to be pretty important as will be a Scottish January and 17 hours are in darkness. Brrr. Convincing some good friends and family to act as support crew will be important too - who else will make us soup at 4am if not them??

I'll keep posting exciting training stories and boring techy gadget details as we go along.

And don't forget the donation box on the top right of this page - I'm raising funds for Edinburgh's Sick Kids hospital. I chose it as a kind of taliksman...if I give to them maybe I'll never have to use them ;-)

Ooh, that's a bit nippy

Ooh, that's a bit nippy
Originally uploaded by tcatcarson

Last Saturday we made the most of a dry day and headed to Seacliff Beach, 2 minutes from North Berwick and charging £2 for parking to keep the riff raff out. You can see from Kit's face that it was not the warmest of water but we promise, it was his idea to paddle and it was all we could do to get his shoes and trousers off before he waded in.
I been busy dividing myself between SQH worrying (I am ahead in this, though behind in the actual work), school camp, continued practice for the Strathpuffer (more on this to follow) and other general work stuff. Lorna's new term has started in earnest and with huge rewrites and restructurings of existing courses her time is taken up too.
The boy talks more and more - his longer mutterings include "Ready, Steady, Go!" -and has a fetish for the red light on the burglar alarm sensor in the living room. People think he's waving to be friendly but he's actually trying to motion-activate it.
Oh, it's my birthday on Friday but I've definately stopped counting and have to do sums to work out how old I am.
Anyway that's a short and vague update until I get a real one done. And that might be soon.

Nuts

Why do people insist on ruining a perfectly good bag of nuts by mixing it with dried fruit?

“There's only one me, and I'm stuck with him.” - KV

It is a measure of how quickly time can pass that Kit not only became the "big boy" of the baby room, he has now outgrown it altogether and has enjoyed a nursery graduation into the next room, Little Roos. He is back to being the new boy again, but gets bigger toys, more time outdoors and - gasp - a mattress for nap time instead of a cot! We were surprised that he took to this so readily but apparently because they all go to sleep at the same time there is a mood of quiet to which he succumbs.

We have begun to get itchier feet house wise and even viewed a property in Balerno the other week. It wasn't the house for us, but we like the area so will be keeping our ears and eyes open should the right one come along. Lorna pretends it's all to do with countryside and catchment areas but it really comes down to the noisy teenagers who live through the wall from us.

I have just finished a couple of SQH days which have put the wind up me again as far as assignments and readings go. The good news is that I passed my first piece without a hitch - next comes the School Improvement Project which will keep me very busy until at least February!

Still, not so busy that I can't get out on the bike - in a couple of weeks I head down to Lincolnshire for a Thundercat run. I'm really looking forward to a longer trip on the bike, and especially as I will meet up with some friends I have not seen for ages. That, and a trip to see Dad in Carrbridge, will keep us busy enough for a while. Aye, the nights are fair drawing in...

I can slide all by myself...sort of.

We took the bikes along the old railway line towards Balerno today, and stopped off at Spylaw Park for a swing and a slide.

Japanese Learning English

I love this - essential phrases for that holiday mugging you've always dreamed of...

OK, botanists, GO!

Help me identify this flower in my garden...

Ta.

Jo Jingles

Kit's first experience of a festival show was Jo Jingles Goes To The Farm, this morning. Essentially a sing-along, he sat through it with look of entertained bemusement.

I'm a hero with coward's legs.

I am riddled with guilt having not helped someone yesterday. As I was unpacking the car of shopping there was shouting coming from the far end of the streeet. Two guys were running, being chased by another guy who was doing the shouting - it was obvious they had nicked something from him and he was chasing them. "Can you help me please?" he asked. They were running my way.

What I want to be able to say is that I blocked their way, shouted at them, demanded they give him back the personal CD player one was holding, looked menacing and saved the day. But of course, I didn't. Thoughts of knives and the real value of a CD player stopped me. They ran past, split up in different directions and the chasing guy picked one (the right one, as it happened) and kept chasing.

I am really cross and disappointed in myself for not helping, but in the same situation I would probably do the exact same nothing. I guess I am not a 'have-a-go-hero' this time.

Let a smile be your umbrella, and you'll end up with a face full of rain.

So it hasn't been the kindest of summers, as far as the weather goes. It feels a little churlish to gripe about showers and puddles when mother nature is slowly washing England into the sea one blocked drain at a time, but I reserve the right to expect more good days in six weeks than we've had. However maybe that just makes the sunny spells all the more valued.

My last post announced Jon and my plans to head north and visit the beautiful Sandwood Bay...so we did. A splendid time was had by both: the weather held up for us until late into the evening. The bay has little in the way of firewood but we found what appeared to be part of a wooden crate to burn - turned out it was made of solid, woodlike plastic which burnt very well, though perhaps was not the nicest thing to sit beside and inhale from. After family packs of Supernoodles, a couple of beers and a snifter of Laphroig we turned in, and next day were lucky enough to get a dry walk out and a most pleasant all day breakfast at Kinlochbervie's Fisherman's Mission - all the anus and eyelid you can eat for a fiver!

Our family week to Mull was everything we'd hoped it might be. The race from Tain to Oban via the Co-Op (then trying to stuff a week's worth of food into an already obscenely overpacked car) was a challenge, but once in the queue for the ferry I could relax and inspect the quality of the Oban port authority's seagull poo sweeping. Not bad, actually, but I could have done better.

Once on Mull we found our cottage and despite being a bit damp and smelling a bit like a wet dog we were pleased to call it home for the week. Walks, cycles, a visit to Iona and Tobermory kept us busy and Kit loved sticking his head into sandy puddles on the beach. Well, what are wellies for if not to fill with water? We lit the fire a few nights for no other good reason than it's fun to light fires and Lorna somehow took the Mull Scrabble title at three games to two. I managed to get lots of school stuff reading done - the benefit of no TV or internet cannot be over stressed here - and we wended our way home a week later feeling holidayed and happy.

Now back home my assignment is submitted, Kit is walking and babbling like never before and Lorna is...wait for this...getting a bicycle tomorrow! She ventured out three times on my mountain bike while on holiday. (Lorna is not the most experienced, or confident of cyclists. She can't change gear if there is a car near - well, if she can even see a car, actually - and only recently has been able to move her hand over to ring the bell. Before that she relied on a firm clearing of the throat to warn walkers to dive out of the way.) The first time, in Tain, it poured with rain so much that we hid under a tree until, realising it was never going to stop, limping home 20 minutes later in defeat. Our second run took us from Tain to Inver and all was going well until two low flying jets knocked Lorna into a ditch. You see...knowing how much she likes low flying jets, after the first one buzzed us I spotted the second one and shouted, "Lorna, stop". I knew she couldn't cycle and look at the same time, but unfortunately she thought I shouted, "Lorna, look" and proved I was right. One bruised shin later (it started off as a broken leg, but then got better) and I was off to get the car to ferry her back safely on four wheels. The third go was much more successful, on Iona, but we both agreed the mountain bike was not ideal for her so she's chosen one of these instead. Ding ding!

More on the bike front - Mike and I have been testing ourselves at the Glentress and Innerleithen trails. The Glentress red route was enough for me, but still we dared the black route at Innerleithen and lived to tell the tale.

So what now? Well, cramming as much as I can into the last week of the holidays, trying to get out on the motorbike (new rear tyre, woohoo!) and avoiding "back to school dreams", I guess.

Life and Music

Off to walk in the rain

Last night we went out for a seafood extravaganza in Portmahomack with Jon and Corinne to the Oystercatcher. Jon and I got wellied in to the "Port Platter" of crab, lobster, mussels, oysters and all other stuff. Mmm. The appetiser was an eyebrow raiser, though. See the picture and spot what we weren't sure about...



Yes, the syringe. It was full of a rhubarby-gingery juice which was very nice as we squirted it into our mouths...

So, Sandwood Bay today. Wish us luck against the forecast.

For the want of a cot at Granny's...

Multimedia message
Originally uploaded by tcatcarson

Right cat, out!

The horror of the Scottish barbecue...

So, Lorna's mummy pals have been asking for a while when she planned to host a barbecue. The date chosen was today, and didn't the rain just know it...

Thanks to the folk who showed up, and to the sun for an all too brief appearance. Now, where can we offload 6 tons of coleslaw and 200 sausages?

Freedom of speech is wonderful - right up there with the freedom not to listen.

I am knackered. I know that compared to, like, farmers and, say, children in Mali I have little right to complain but compared to the charmed life I usually lead, it's been a busy day.

I was one of two QPS teachers presenting at the Primary Science Summer School, jointly run by HMIe and Careers Scotland, at Dynamic Earth today. We ran two workshop sessions called "Enhancing the learning and teaching of science using ICT". Basically we covered using commercial websites, setting up a school website, voting tools and interactive whiteboard use, digital video work and the use of dataloggers. Two sessions lasting two hours each and it was 3pm before we knew it. But we did manage to get one group's work online, here...> The best part was having P6 on the other end of the phone ready to view the work of these teachers and comment on it, ha ha.

Then it was a quick cycle home in the rain, just enough time to grab a haircut and a Star Bar before heading back into school to deliver an "internet safety" presentation to the 10 parents who bothered to attend the PTA AGM. Sheesh.

Actually now that I see it in writing it wasn't that much at all - I don't think the half hour delay in the bridge traffic helped, mind.

Apart from that, there has been a bit of a Tain-Bebo surge of late. It's difficult - so far I have been in touch with a couple of people I am quite pleased to hear from, and interested to find out about. But how long will it be before some looney gets through...?

Edinburgh Trams - the vision

Just thought I'd share this with you - it appears to be an early website laying out the vision of trams in Edinburgh...but, come on, surely any moron with Photoshop and a brain could do better then this!? I mean, how did you do the tracks...crayon?

NETCo...>

An engagement!

We just had a visit from Gillian and Gary who got engaged last week while in Mallorca. Congratulations to them!