Grumpy old man grumpfest... Sit down in front of TV for monday night quiz night on BBC2, that has been on for nearly every Monday for years, and NONE of it is on - replaced with NI football 😠 Come on BBC (not on bluesky) - you have loads of channels, why do you have to cancel stuff?

A great start, even for a seasoned layman like me! If you have a passing interest in psychology and things like motonormativity, then do take a look - but do make sure to check out the pre-post for context..

When will the internet avoid spoilers? Had 3 today - all innocuous, but told me stuff I'd wanted to learn about later. Surely it is quite easy (I'm in telecoms tech, and it feels easy to do there), and I'd be willing to pay a couple of quid a month to avoid things. 1 billion people @£2 pm = $$$$ 🙏🙏🙏

I was doing some gardening, but have been distracted by the looming sunset that is building up to be a good one, plus temps are really balmy, so I've poured a G&T and put the cricket on BBC sounds instead of doing what I'm meant to be doing...

Autumn rocking it in Hertfordshire- so good for riding and hiking on the super dry trails

October sunsets are just great

Sigh! Pah! Actually - bugger! Just finished my re-focus first year of at least an hour of tracked exercise a day - hurrah - and grand plans to increase the intensity with a lot more riding than hiking in year 2. But, had a bit of a cold this week. 1/3

55km rambling up and down the south Dorset/Devon coastline on the weekend. Definitely topped up my tan a fair bit 1/2

Checked into rental, TV looks worse than ceefax. It works though, and enjoyed the masterchef final with some G&T joy

we had some time at the end of our team meeting today - started discussing EVs and their negative impact on the environment, and among a few things I mentioned their extreme power. A 20-something on the team mentioned he killed a crow recently when he tried out how fast his acceleration was... 1/3

Sat in the garden enjoying the early autumn evening sunshine, and contemplating whether to ride my MTB or hybrid around north London in my lunch break tomorrow. Of course, it has to be MTB as the trails are still dry enough...

Feeling generally ok, little toes are a bit sore ....

Did anyone else enjoy SWANT, special weapons and *no* tactics in viz production in the 80s and 90s?

I wasn't ready (fitness, mentally or conditioning), but it was my last chance this year so I went for my "walk your age in km" personal challenge. OK moving time for 10 hours, then 3 hours of grind/discomfort. 14.5 hours total time, 1 hr before sunrise, 1.5 hrs after sunset. 5,900 calories 😮 1/2

After getting over a few setbacks/injuries this year, including a couple of "apathy" injuries, plus the weather gods being on my side means I can capitalise on inspiration from @drlygo.bsky.social and her daughter's efforts a few days ago to go for my "walk your age in km" personal challenge soon 🤞

Anyone else getting bored with Strava giving them kudos for completing another activity? Komoot and garmin connect have been doing it for ages, but I'm happy to disable notifications from those apps, but I quite like my riding buddies taunting me for not trying hard enough on strava...

Just had an absolute blast watching the Iron Maiden 666 tour on BBC2. A long time fan, and totally loving the vibes. Riding tomorrow, might stretch the envelope a bit on the back of that...

Continuing our theme of going somewhere we haven't been before on the way to/from our holiday rental - turned up a gem here, including an excellent breakfast at the Roaches tea rooms before the walk. Will definitely be going back to the Staffordshire Moorlands!

End of holiday break tomorrow - sad to leave the proper hills after doing some great hikes (despite the ~60mph winds on some high ridges) but not nearly enough riding - hey-ho, it is a good time to leave it seems www.bbc.co.uk/weather/arti...

Came across this today in Llandudno - and it is right as being so steep and spitting you out into a 3 road junction while still on the hill with no visibility either way is dangerous with motor vehicles around. So much better than "cyclists dismount" though!

Fabulously good day in the Carneddau after waiting 30+ years to just do it. Had to walk it a day earlier than planned (after a hard ride yesterday) due to a weather window closing, and was happy to put up with the 50-60 mph wind (no gusts, just strong winds). Saw 15 other people in total - quiet 🕺🤷🥾

But I'm on holiday, I'm definitely not training 🚵‍♀️🥾🙃

I'm preparing for a linear walk from Ogwen Cottage to Conwy through the Carneddau tomorrow - I've just chosen my boots based on conditions, comfort and weight. Merrel Moab II mid - yeah, a bit too light, but hey ho. Other options Brasher GTX, Moab III GTX, Evadict TR2 trail running, or not going

Just clicking around the MetOffice Eryri NP mountain forecast for tomorrow, and spotted that there is a per peak forecast for the key peaks - huh, when did that become a thing? And how long is it since I've been in the high mountains 😳 That's the rest of the evening gone checking them all out...

All this talk of the tumble in the mToB (yeah, I'm running a day late due to ITVx shenanigans delaying the highlights) has confused me. I grew up in Newport and spent many an hour riding around that area, but hadn't heard of it, and didn't recognise it... Seems things have changed a bit... 1/2

Just reccied NCN5 west from Conwy on foot. It is pretty sketchy. Rockfall making a serious dent in the side of the path. Cars rushing around like crazy in the 30mph zone. Lorries a bit close for comfort. Other road route is 60km, 900m ascent, to do 2km on the sketchy place 🤷 gonna have to ride it...

*rant* Just rocked up at our rental for the week - pretty standard pad. It has a smart TV - I had to log it into the wifi - there are no rental logins, so I have to login myself to everything 1/N

Just catteed

It has been a hot summer in Herts, and very dry, but I've regularly watered my chilli plants, and now they are fruiting - and have the oppressive conditions impacted them? Oh yes, they are super hot and there are loads of them 😁

Tried to avoid the showers today, and failed. And the worst fail over lunch where the rain radar looked grim, but it evaporated before it got to me and I missed a weather window. Looking severely shonky for the next 2 hours, but by posting on here it will make me get out for my tracked hour today...

"It goes without saying that no family should have to live with the fear that a car might crash into their home." www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Fab stroll from South Kenton to Finsbury Park around the Capital Ring - the Ramblers have done exceptionally with this entire route taking in plenty of terrain that it is hard to comprehend is inside the M25! This one took in one summitbag peak (Barn Hill), and had only 2.5km of road walking 👍👍👍

Anyone else watching SAS who dares wins in the UK trying to piece together the high shots? Seems to me they are taking the best stuff from random angles. Been to Anglesey too many times to not recognise the production fails!

WTF, someone has taken an egg out of the middle of the box today. Don't remember that having ever happening before. Ever.

Top job Enfield council - 24km out and back ride from the centre of Enfield Town on cycleway 20 and NCN 12 inc some Enfield greenways. What's special about that? Well, 750m (each way) of tarmac, then traffic free apart from 5 road crossings (each way) - that's insane in North London...

random post #2 I asked about what bike/hike folks were doing for supplements a while ago (in the UK) - not much feedback. What am I doing now (@57) - AG1 - general wellbeing - Zoe - microbiome/gut health - glucosamine - joints - cod liver oil - joints - (keto diet) How is it going? ...

Hmm - has the google hack taken a turn for the worst? My phone has got confused about my account...

TIL; tyre sealant doesn't wash off in the shower with standard soap stuff! Only been running tubeless for 7 years or so, and today I had a cut in my road bike front tyre that plugged with 2-3 rotations, but unplugged every few mins, and repeated. Never enough to lower the pressure enough...

Riding off road you have to be prepared for anything, which often induces reactions from exhilaration to buttock clenching fear. As I get older and my reactions slow, I don't have time for buttock clenching fear most of the time, so enjoyed the exhilaration of limboing under this one at 30kph.

Despite preferring MTB rides, I've not commuted off road for over 6 years for some reason that I can't fathom, after commuting off road for many years. Lovely sunrise, great riding, memories jogged! 51km off road over 84km riding, with a days work in the middle. Wonderful - can't wait to do it again

Bye bye Moab 2 ventilators, you have served me well over the last 850km. But now your getting tired, and causing me issues (mainly the toe box losing suppleness = blisters on long walks). Not in the bin, off to the shoe recycling place as always - hopefully someone's life will be better with you 🤞

Feeling awe and love for all those embarking on #LEL2025 in the hours ahead, and reminding myself of my life mantra... Enjoy every minute! (even the dark ones) Got a feeling I'm going to be gripped by the tracking and living every minute! god speed to all riders and volunteers, have fun!

Just exploring my strava data uploaded to summitbag.com - seems I've ridden and walked lots of roads/trails around Hertfordshire in the last 13 years. This app/website really helping focus my attention on completing assorted micro achievements - like walking the length of the Kent coastline

Ooh, the new river cycle route out of Enfield seems to be open, now plotting a lunchtime sortie next week to see how much traffic free I can get out north in my lunch break 😀 😉 😄

Hey BBC, can't see a handle for you here, but why is there no noticeable coverage of Oscar Onley on your website? He is doing so much better than any British rider for 10 years or more!

Was planning to ride this evening - forecast fail! Forecast was risk of thunderstorms from 10, but dry and sunny spells until then - just had to wait for the rush hour to subside. 1745, heavy thunder claps, darkness, and met office radar shows fast developing thunder cells A walk later it is then...

Intentionally left my ride to the evening so the heat and the rush hour madness had subsided - might have made a mistake...

Added 500L to our rain water storage today, taking us over 700L in total. With the last few months weather I think I might have undercooked it...

Anyone else notice and/or enjoy Simon Yates wry smile after he glanced back 50m from the finish today, it was fabulous! He then put a stage winners face on to cross the line for the cameras. I do enjoy a personal/natural reaction when it matters

I counted 38 bees in about half a lavender bush before i lost confidence about which bits I had counted - that implies at least 50 bees on one plant. Shame the hot weather means there is hardly any veg for them to pollinate