Jake's Rides

Lance is the Man!

You probably don't need telling this, but, Lance Armstrong made history today.

There's is no doubting what an amazing achievement six Tour victories is. But, how does it compare with other sporting greats. Read opinions on this BBC page.

Our Friends in the North

They say people are friendlier in The North and I don't doubt it. Sunderland is about as far north as you can get, in England at least, and I've never met as friendly a bunch of people. Just tonight, out on my bike, I got chatting to another guy, also on his bike. It started with us both bemoaning the new "kissing gate" they've installed on the path we were riding. It finished about ten minutes later with us swapping locations of favourite Chinese take-aways in the area.

It's a shame I'm leaving the region at the end of next week. I'm going to miss it up here. It's also a shame that I have a week before I leave and have so much work on that I have no time to do the things I want to do before I go. Here's a list. As much for my own benefit as anything else:

• Make it to Hamsterley Forest.
• Get to Bamburgh Castle with my camera for a sunset.
• Spend a day riding in the North York Moors and a day in Northumberland.
• Ride my finely-tuned 25 mile circular route one last time

Luckily, Karen is going to be driving back up here at least once a month and I will probably join here a few times. When you've only got a weekend it's amazing what you can squeeze in to a day. I feel ashamed that I've been here over a year and not made the most of it...

GPS and Bluetooth

There's a new gadget about that lets you turn your PC in to a GPS device via Bluetooth. It's called, imaginatively, the Bluetooth GPS and there's a full full review on Mobile Gadget News.

Turning your laptop in to a GPS unit might not sound such a great idea, depending on how portable a laptop it is. More exciting is the idea of turning your mobile phone in to a GPS unit.

Thanks to Clarkey for the link.

Something else for the Wishlist

This month's mbr magazine has a review of backpacks. Timely, as I'm on the market for one. My 10 litre pack just ain't big enough no more. It's ok for short rides if you just want a few tools and a sandwich. However, if you want to take a camera and spare layer of clothing, it becomes a squeeze.

MBR gave 8/10 to the Karrimor's Carve 20 (shown). Not the cheapest of packs at £45 but nothing is when it comes to biking nowadays.

Pack shown is green/black and not too attractive. It comes in charcoal/black though.

Unwittingly Cool

A few months ago I treated myself to a Berghaus walking coat with full Goretex XCR. You can see me in it in the story from a recent trip to the Peaks. What I didn't realise at the time was that Berghaus had become the new cool and a must-have item for both school kids and bad-lads alike. Mainly for the kids though.

Every other Wednesday I help out at my step-daughter's after school "environmental club" (enough to drive anyone mental). A couple of the lads wear Berghaus coats. Last time there it was as wet as ever and so I was wearing mine. I asked one of them if it meant I was cool and he said yes. Now, I'm not sad enough or old enough yet to take this as a good thing. In fact I take it badly. Who wants to look like he's trying to be cool by wearing the same things as the new kids on the block!?

Another event this weekend gone shows the effect labels can have on kids. Quinn (step-daughter) likes to joke about what I wear and how uncool I look. Nothing I take too seriously though. This weekend was her birthday and here and four friends were escorted to Newcastle cinema by Karen and I to see Shrek 2. It was lashing it down when we had to walk to the Metro. I was trying my hardest to keep here happy and wearing a flimsy but fairly fashionable shower-proof jacket. Quinn actually said to me "Why don't you wear your Berghaus!?". Quite obviously more out of a wish for her friends to see it than a wish to keep me dry. Were it any other label on the exact same coat and there's no way she would have suggested the change.

I remember what it's like to be a kid and at school and I know how fast fads come and go. Some time soon Berghaus will be back out of favour. What I am most worried about is that some time soon I am going to be uncool...

Other Tour Websites

Forget the official Tour de France sites I was talking about. They're boring. This year we just had to have a TDF blog or two didn't we!? Thanks to Robin who's posted links to a couple.

TDF Update - Lance Armstrong is now wearing yellow!

Le Tour 2004

The Tour de France started this weekend. Not even sure if it's on the telly over here so I've been looking for a site I can use to keep up with the standings, at the end of each day.

The official Tour site isn't up to much. Too hard to navigate. A quick google doesn't bring up much either. So I fall back to the good old BBC, who, are covering Le Tour, albeit in their "other sports" section.

Plenty of news and results and photos on the BBC Cycling Page though!

Currently Lance is in third place. Will he win? Maybe! Do I care? Yes! It's not that I want him to win or don't want him to win. I've read his book and know what he's been through. It's just that he happens to be American. I've nothing against Americans in particular, I just don't want them to be the best at anything other than they already are. Nobody really likes the guy who's the best at everything. That said, I will probably be egging him on all the way. The man deserves respect.

Longitude

A couple of weeks ago I walked in to Smith's and noticed a book offer. Buy The Times for 50p and get a book for 99p. It wasn't the offer that caught my eye - after all we are surrounded by them and I tend to ignore most - but the cover of the book itself. Instantly I knew it was my type of book.

The books in question is Longitude by Dava Sobel. As you can probably tell from the cover, it's about either science or exploration. In fact, it's about both. My two favourite subjects for non-fiction books. As with most tales of 18th century exploration and scientific discovery/endeavour there's an element of black humour to it.

It's hard to imagine that just a few hundred years ago there were such fanciful ideas for navigation. Whereas now we can easily afford hand-held GPS units, back then they were still working on chronometers that took years to make, weighed 60lbs and cost a small fortune.

The book centers around the story of the self-taught Yorkshire clock make John Harrison and his life-long quest to solve the Board of Longitude's problem and win the prize of £20,000. Well worth a read!

I was actually reading the book while I was in London last week and meant to visit the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich to have a look at the clocks. Alas, I didn't get round to it and writing ("researching") this entry has been the first time I've seen the clocks. They look as amazing as I'd expected. Here's a photo of his first, the H-1. Apparently the American author was reduced to tears when she first managed to get to Greenwich, after years spent researching and writing about them.