Baggy’s Neighborhood

Go forth and fill your libraries with media.

Seriously, thanks to everyone for being so amazing and patient. You are the reason I love Vox.

~daisy

On a more serious note - dark nights mean drivers can't see you. Just about everyone was beautifully turned out at our club training night last Tuesday in Hi Viz kit but if you haven't got yours yet we have a large stock at the Gear for Girls store. Bibs are available in Hi Viz Pink and Flou Yellow.

Nathalie and Toria can be seen here modeling their Hi Viz kit on a beautiful sunny morning. Don't they look great....

And so it finally arrived....our first club training night back on the roads. We had tried to avoid it for as long as possible, stumbling around on the hills with head torches these last few weeks but with the clocks changing to was time to submit to the harsh discipline of the road.

We were promised an easy start to our winter training sessions........ha! How we were fooled. Gentle warm up exercises were soon cast aside and we were plunged straight into the harsh reality of four 1km laps of the Weetwood Avenue circuit run as a fartlek session.....eyeball out sprint followed by jogging followed by eyeball out sprint....you get the drift. Oh boy it was competitive and I had to sneak a quick drink break every lap just to keep body and soul together.

And then the Pièce de résistance - a slow jog back all the way down Weetwood Avenue, a slow turn - the tension mounting, a slow jog back to the half way point - jostling for position - no-one wanting to be in front, no-one wanting to hang too far back, no-one taking it seriously (of course)......and then, at the post box half way back down the avenue the action took off. A full out, no holds barred sprint for the last 200m....lungs gasping for air, muscles screaming, limbs flailing....just hanging in to make it to the end of the avenue and collapse in a heap.

Don't you love the competitveness of a club training night ....what better way to spend a wet, dark Tuesday evening. 

I was just told that the Amazon Conduit will be fixed by tomorrow. I will post here as soon as I get word that it's back up and running.

I know this has been frustrating and I am sorry there wasn't more I could do to make it less so. I really appreciate your patience though.

Cheers,

daisy

Bad news. As many of you have probably noticed, the Amazon Conduit was not fixed in the last week's release. Unfortunately, there was an undetected bug that is preventing the conduit from working.

We are working on this bug fix and hope to have the Conduit back up and running this week.

I will keep you posted.

Thank you for being so patient.

~daisy

Blog Action Day

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Blog Action Day is every October 15th, when blogger are asked to post something about a single issue to show our strength and conviction as an online community. It's a great way to feel connected to the greater good, and the participation of so many bloggers to support the world's leading non-profit organizations is something you can do to help, right now. By blogging today, you're supporting some of the world's leading non-profits and sharing your voice for change.

This year's topic is climate change, and we'd love to read your thoughts on the topic. If you participate, leave us a link to your post in the comments, so we know to check out your post!

Go to www.blogactionday.org to learn more, get a badge for your blog showing your participation, and see some ideas for your post on climate change.

Can't wait to read your posts!

~ daisy

Monster pre start

By some miracle Team Deluded were loaded (the car) and setting off on the road to Inverness by 10am last Friday. The bikes were gleaming on the roof, the boot packed with kit bags and the back seat littered with bags of sweets and energy drinks. It felt like a holiday. We made excellent time, mainly due to the fact that Sarah, already in fine competative form, insisted on overtaking any vehicle on the A9 with a bike attached . Plenty of time to find the sports centre, register, unload and check the bikes and recce the last leg of the course. At the briefing and pasta party we were a little disconcerted to notice we were one of the few groups to sport total team branding. Not sure why; haring around the Highlands labelled as Deluded proved jolly good fun. We retired to our hotel to settle our nerves with a small glass of wine in the bar before trying to grab a few hours sleep.

An early start, we got to the sports centre at 6.15am, Jane, Sarah and Pauline to catch buses and boats to their transition points, me to limber up for an anxious 45 minutes. My leg, basically an off-road 10k race, involved a fast dash out along the Caledonian canal, before climbing along the Great Glen Way into beautiful pine forest. Early morning cool with the joy of the rising sun to take the pain out of the ascent. Finishing I handed on my dibber to Jane with words of encouragement before discovering a second breakfast in a tent.

A bus carried finishers to the next transition point where screens showed timings and positions for each leg. Delighted come in 35th on my run. Time to check over my bike, 2 wheels, no punctures, great. More food in a tent, then the excitement of watching the elite competitors fly into transition. Pauline soon appeared elegantly galloping through the trees to pass on the timing dibber. I ran to retrieve my bike then off on a glorious 22.5k of undulating forest path and track. Had been feeling worried about the cycling, new territory for all of us; but it was fun, grand views of Loch Ness and scary hairpin bends before a speedy finish into Fort Augustus, where Jane was waiting to start her gruelling ride up a mountain pass. Ah joy to finish, sit in a field with more food from a tent, following the progress of team on the big screen. Time to exchange the story of your race and your life with other competitors as we return by bus to the finish. 

Reunited with my Deluded team mates, we talked through every inch of the race and toasted ourselves with real ale.

Thanks to my team mates for a superb event

Monster- bikes ready to go

1 comment

The Amazon Conduit will be working again on October 15, 2009. Thank you to everyone for your patience.

Have a great weekend,

daisy, Team Vox