a bit of sexy bike porn!

Bianchi - perfection!

Mid-Christmas, or is it?

I type this later than usual, so if there's a sudden.................................................break, it's because I have fallen asleep. No, no, cold coffee accompanies, I AM AWAKE.
My first topic is my trouble with the concept of Christmas. DEEEEEP, right don't worry. Er, yeah, as a child/young adult I usually used to consider Christmas as 25th December, nothing more, all the rest was just commercial hype. But I have tried this year to convince myself of the season of Christmas. I have managed to cope with 'early' christmas shopping. The season should surround Christmas Day, I would think. I also think that more success would be made by a definitive period of dates. Does christmas finish at midnight of the 25th? I used to think this, but no no no. As the song says, there are 12 days of Christmas. Starting the 25th? If so, why isn't more made of this? If christmas is a 12 day season, then mid-christmas cannot exist, only at midnight of the 6th day. Hmmm.
I feel like writing to Coca Cola. They own/run it.
Now, if you are lucky, you will read this on thursday 29th.  The 29th is the fifth day of Christmas isn't it?
I am not your true love, don't be scared, I am just a good guy loving everyone who visits. I wish to spread the love (music reference follows).

     

My birthday!

The cake represents the most important birthday from this period of year. My blog is one year old today!! I began this blog without an expectation as for any visitors at all. However it has been allowed to grow, as my audience has increased, so has the need for me to create posts every week. A lot of coffee has been consumed whilst typing, thank you! The tally for year 1 is 3163. That's an average of 8.67 viewers per day!!! The counter will be visible until the new year, for everyone viewing. Although, it began life purely as a therapeutic tool, which it continues to be, it now can also provide access to my ongoing, forever evolving, 'Colours of the Peloton' work. Primarily, however, it can be thought of as a tool providing descriptions of current life, experienced, restricted in a wheelchair. 

ok end of busy day for blog and total is 3195. Average = 8.75 per day 

Is it wrong, to be disgusted by a neighbour's decorative display of the festive season?

No.

It is still occupied by residents, not aliens, i think....

The sheer over-use of fluorescent lights says a ridiculous amount to me about the inhabitants. I won't start talking about being fat, greedy, tasteless excuses, because that would just get me in trouble. So, I will just shut my curtain. I wish them a merry christmas (if that is what they're celebrating). Hmmmm....

A winter wonderland....

'... Walkin' along, singing a song,'

Whenever I here this tune being played, it makes me very emotional. The reason, not that it is related to christmas, but hearing this tune, means only one thing to me.....

THERE'S ONLY ONE DENNIS BERGKAMP, WALKING ALONG, SINGING A SONG, WALKING  IN A BERGKAMP WONDERLAND!!!

For me, he was the greatest. Comparisons should not be made. Records are there to be broken. He holds no outstanding goalscoring records (I don't think). He was an artist with a vision such that most of the opposition couldn't attempt to even guess his next step. To just view art for 90mins was an experience, elevating him from all competition, for me. Artistic football genius. Thank you Dennis.

... Right,
Enough of boring you all tears, exclaiming one of my heroes. When feeling down, I often get a bit angry, annoyed with my situation. It's been over five years since my accident. Five long years and 'only five years', at the same time. I know that I have progressed a mighty long way from my accident, however there will always be things that I have/or continue to miss out on, for whatever reason. I have no choice but to accept this, so i do. I do try and twist things to my advantage, just as anyone does, but maybe i have more experience of this, over five years post accident.
...Anyway, the note that i made to myself earlier in the week finishes with a song lyric:
I shouldn't be here, stuck in this wheelchair. NO, YOU'RE RIGHT, YOU SHOULDN'T BE HERE AT ALL.
Happiness, more or less, it's just a change in me, something in my liberty, oh my, my, my, mine......    

A lunchtime post, induces the need for a morning coffee.....

.... and so i have already had one (quite unusual for myself, usually an afternoon drink).

Anyway, not that you all care. The new Bjork cd is playing in my cd player, again, and doing my head in, so the Alela Diane mp3 it is.

Above, my christmas tree this year has been deliberately kept a simple colour scheme of green and white (+ gold star). Anyway, atop the tree sits the mighty Snowman. Nameless, he/she has yet to be christened. Can he be christened before christmas? Oh, I don't know. Anyway, name suggestions are welcome, please.  

A very old note was recently discovered on my phone (made weeks ago). It is really a warning note to myself. I sat in a cafe eating lunch, and an attractive looking girl sat down on the next table. Attractive maybe, but what really caught my eye was that carried a most superb looking cappuccino to the table (or so i thought). I was in a daze, a dream girl, with a dream coffee. I broke the ice, "wow, tasty cappuccino" i told her. To which she responded "oh no no no, it's a hot chocolate." I was totally gutted. All attraction was discarded. I made the note to remind me to refrain from attempting. Enough.

On a totally different note, I want to tell of how i am reading books at the moment concerning the vast problematic issue of drug use within professional cycling. Ever since the 'Festina affair' of 1998, when i was still only 13 during the TDF, I have found out about this tragic problem throughout the sport that I loved. More than half of my lifetime ago - eek crikey!! Still in love with this romantic sport, despite unable to participate, I read a lot to keep in touch. Since those dark days, I have maintained faith in the sport getting autographs from heroes, riding and watching part of the TDF, creating a large variety of applied courseworks through my education. I am quite brave in reading these texts, uncovering the truth behind heroes, fiinding out that they are (or were) human after all. It hurts. I am reading Willy Voet's book at the moment (the Festina soigneur who got caught crossing border control carrying dope in'98). He states how he and riders would be readily aware of how to set-up a drug infusing drip in a hotel room, using a picture hook or coat hanger. These are my heroes he talks about. It hurts.

Alela Diane

My music taste this week: Alela Diane

Winter

Please play the music, whilst reading the blog.

Good, a good bit of atmospheric music, hopefully combining with my seasonal blog layout, providing a winter essence for you. Maybe. Thank you Sigur Ros.
Having already entered the christmas season, with a tree decorated, cards sent and presents bought, my christmas music is not a 'Smash Hits Compilation' featuring endless Cliff Richard and Slade. Instead I seem to find much greater joy in the winter sounds brought to me listening to two of Iceland's biggest acts, Sigur Ros, and Bjork. I may sound like some stupid art student, but they honestly do help me to feel more of a winter mood (entailing christmas).
I realise that these two acts could be considered 'too difficult to listen to', which is a shame. If people would just give them the time. I don't listen to their albums as collections of songs, being so atmospheric, an album needs to almost experienced as background music. Top quality stuff though. Icelandic music needs more research.

On a completely different note (partly), I found to my joy, today that in the two shops i was in earlier today (in Kingston), I was asked if i wanted a plastic carrier bag. The more people who realise that there is a serious over-use of polyethylene carrier bags in society today, the better. Although accepting the first offer, i declined a bag being offered when i bought my Bjork album.
I needed the first to carry the tree decorations i had bought. Christmas Trees are a tradition, fair enough. But to illuminate your whole home with dayglow colours is disgusting and wrong. For me. I am refraining from lights on my Christmas Tree (a lot cheaper, more stylish, safer). I remember the fascination with them, as a child, but we don't remain children forever.   

Merry Christmas holiday!

Please forgive the 'early' christmas wishes. I realise that they may be seen as over the top. The truth is that this year I realise that I am old enough to decide when I want to celebrate the festive season. I have already done christmas shopping, I have my tree and will be able to relax in the knowledge that I have no need to join the 'christmas rush' in a couple of weeks. Christmas is a season period, climaxing on one day. It is a special day but as previously explained, it is much much better to be allowed to enjoy the festive period without having to dread experiencing the commercial centre with similar crowds. I would seriously rather enjoy the Christmas period like this than feel the pressure to really really enjoy one day.

I take no sugar in my coffee, and to disagree with the words of David Byrne, I do not take sweetener either!

I realise that I am quite unusual in this, but I find that sugar totally ruins the perfect taste of a good cup of coffee. I won't start going on, sorry.

I have another complaint. I don't know the man, his name or whatever, but if the toilet door is locked he needs to understand that someone else is using it. Grrrr, sorry.

I am slightly disillusioned, as I have just finished a very good book on the problem that is 'drugs in cycling'. I have long thought that i could cope with this problem, accepting that cheating is human nature, but i realise that this has caused me to expect a problem throughout sport, and there isn't. Has the sport of professional cycling, ruined every sport for me? I thought it had, but this can't be right. Is it just cycling? No, tennis, athletics,swimming, there ARE problems in other sports. But, pro cyclists are 'expected' to cheat. Oh i don't know.

merry christmas!!