Several years ago when Hayley was pregnant with Oliver, we saw a fireman's bike in a mini museum in Prague. I'm not sure how much real use it saw, perhaps none at all.
But here is a genuinely life-saving bicycle, used as an ambulance for pregnant women in Malawi.
Sadly my excitement at this story was dampened when I read that there are more Malawian doctors in Manchester than in the whole of Malawi, a symptom of the lucrative wages our government is offering in order to try to maximise improvements in our own National Health Service.
If time flies when you are having fun then I am Funtime Franky from Chucklesville, Laughter County. Or more likely I am realising there is WAY too much to do before the wedding. Consequently posting to this blog is an activity that hasn't been getting much of a look-in, which is a shame as there's so much going on.
Skyride Manchester Yesterday we joined 15000 other cyclists at Skyride Manchester, riding a traffic-free loop linking Manchester city centre with the velodrome. For one day only the city centre's roads were cleared of all motorised traffic. We took the kids on the bike seats and all had a great time. There are photos from our day here. Oliver's highlight was meeting Spongebob Square pants (even though he never watches the TV show). Lucy just seemed to enjoy the whole day. Another highlight was riding inside the velodrome. But nothing beat seeing the kids smiling and dancing in their seats to the sound of a PA system being towed by a guy on a bike just behind us.
Starting off
Inspired perhaps by the Skyride, Oliver has tonight mastered setting off on his bike from a standing start.
And his speed is picking up a bit too.I took him for a ride in the park tonight and got a good jog out of it myself.
Wedding plans
With less than three weeks to the big day things are getting a bit hectic now.
Hayley has her ring. I should have mine about a week before the wedding.
We have drafted a table plan. Thanks to a combination of us pushing the numbers up and then having even more people want to come than we had anticipated, the seating will now be long tables rather than round, which is a shame but can't be helped. It did make the seating plan much harder! In fact it is still not set in stone. And sadly I am sure someone or other will be disappointed not to be exactly where they had hoped, but it's a very hard balancing act and I think we;ve done the best we can.
We have a band. It took a lot of searching (including some soul searching) but I think we made a good choice. Fingers crossed!
Hayley has her final dress fitting tomorrow. I remain completely in the dark. Part of me wonders if I'll recognise her, but then I'm thinking the wedding dress is going to be a bit of a giveaway.
Holiday plans
We've managed to make arrangements to get away for a few days at some point after the wedding. The kids will be with us so it will be a kind of honeymoon come family break. We are all looking forward to it. I can't say where we are going, but Lucy's passport has arrived.
I wish I had more time. Both kids deserve a post each right now as they are so full of character and such great fun. With all the time-accelerating fun I am having, I just need to find a way to add a few more hours to each day...
Yesterday Oliver went through a rite of passage for all off-road cyclists. He had his first big crash.
He hasn't encountered many downhills on his pedal bike before, but on yesterday's otherwise pancake-flat excursion along the Middlewood Way, he rode down a slope from a disused railway platform and lost control.
It wasn't really that big a slope, but I think he picked up speed more than he expected and could see people potentially in his stopping zone at the bottom. Either way, he was too frozen in fear to remember to to pull on his brakes (which he didn't have on his balance bike) and instead went into a series of ever more violent swerves as his front-wheel went left and right. Eventually he went right over the handlebars, landing on his knee, elbow and face! Although he had a helmet on, it isn't a full-face affair and he smacked his nose in the gravel.
After the initial understandable shock and tears, he got straight back on his bike and rode on. I couldn't have been more proud of my brave little boy.
He had another much smaller tumble later but rode all the way to the end, with the exception of the same railway platform on the way back where he chose to walk down the far end of the platform rather than risk another incident (as once again some of our party where waiting in his stopping zone). Probably a good call.
While Oliver rode I was on foot with a friend whose son and daughter were also cycling along with Oliver. For us it was a brisk walk to keep up with the occasional short sprint to avoid possible collisions or tumbles. That section of the Middlewood Way is good for new riders but not ideal, as much of its length has a water-filled ditch just to the side, so there was occasionally the possibility of a watery crash come splash.
Nonetheless it was a pretty nice way to spend a summer's afternoon. We even stopped at our turning-back point (Middlewood railway station) and enjoyed an apple each, after which the kids chased each other with pieces of long grass, trying to tickle each other.
After we had finished the ride, Oliver and I went to a little park and playground nearby where he enjoyed the climbing apparatus, slide and swings (where he befriended a six year old girl).
After that we headed home. Once in bed, the little man fell asleep pretty quickly after his exertions, leaving me to go downstairs and watch the heroics of the riders in the Tour de France on the infamous Mont Ventoux stage. But despite the efforts of Contador, Armstrong and Schleck, there was only one rider this weekend to whom I gave a hearty "Chapeau!". Oliver, you are officially a fully initiated off-road cyclist.
In an attempt to stem the gushing torrent of money that is flowing out of our coffers in the run up to the wedding, I have started a new policy of selling one thing a week on eBay.
This set me to thinking that as I say goodbye to some of these items, I should point out just how good they were lest anyone else would want to buy them.
Weeride Carrier
(I've sold this already and its recipient was very pleased with it I understand.)
Let an excerpt from my eBay spiel do the talking.
This Weeride carrier is ideal as a first child seat as it mounts in front of the adult, meaning that communication with the child is much easier, the child has a better view and you can see what they are doing at all times.
Once the mounting bar is fitted, the seat mounts onto it using a single thumb-screw bolt, so it can be easily mounted and unmounted in seconds.
I used this carrier occasionally over two summers (would probably have used it much more if we'd had better weather!) and I can honestly say that it was loved by parent and child alike. (Not to mention the smiles it brought to many a passer-by.)
And you know this is true because I blogged as much 2 years ago this month.
So a hearty recommendation if you are looking for a first child seat.
Strolli Rider
Again I'll give you my eBay pitch.
This Bibi Strolli Rider is is a great alternative to a conventional buggy board. Kids love it and adults will appreciate its ease of use.
It saw relatively little use with us because it did not fit our main buggy (a 2005 Urban Detour) due to the angles of the buggy frame.
Features: Unlike buggy boards, the rider is next to the adult, not between the adult and buggy, allowing the adult to push the buggy more normally. Minimal width means doors can still be easily navigated (unlike a double stroller). Foot and hand-rests are adjustable in height as your child grows. Quick release lever and bolt makes attaching and detaching easy. Fits oval, square and round tubes. Suitable for children from 15 months old and up to 20Kg. (Personally I did not start my son on this until he was 18 months old as the design does not include a seat belt.)
The picture above shows the Strolli Rider I am auctioning here being used by my then 18 month old son. (Buggy not included!)
Although we didn't use it that often because we preferred our main buggy to the one this fitted, it was great fun, very eye-catching and Oliver loved it.
Today, for the first time since before Oliver was born (Hayley assures me), we went on a bike ride: just the two of us! We had a babysitter for three hours so we headed for the Jackson's Boat pub a few miles down the Trans Pennine Trail with the intention of having lunch there.
As it turned out, when we arrived we found they didn't open for another 15 minutes. Time being precious, we headed back and chose a pub closer to home, The Didsbury, where we had a well-earned and delicious pub-lunch.
It was no mountainous adventure, but we both got a gentle work-out and the food tasted all the better for it. But most importantly, it gave us that bit of child-free time that is essential in a relationship to maintain something other than our identities as parents.
There are plenty of reasons why I write this blog, but most of them can be distilled down to "for my kids".
But that's a rather lazy description. I want the kids to be able to see themselves as they were, but also for them to see how Hayley and I were too. Perhaps that's a bigger part than I anticipated, because it's impossible to convey to your child just how much they mean to you. Maybe part of me hopes the blog will help convey it. I'm sure that when they do look back it will give them a few laughs, if only when they say "Crikey Dad, you used to have hair!".
Life as a parent, whether at home or at work, can often feel like a lot work and little play. But, lame as it may sound, the rewards really do make it all worthwhile in the end. And today we got a lot of rewards.
For a start, it was a beautiful warm day with sunshine and a gentle breeze. So we decided to take a trp to the park. It was such a nice day we ended up spending all afternoon there.
While there, Oliver decided to ride his new bike for much of the time. This still needs me to start him off each time he stops, but it's a tiny price to pay to be able to watch him merrily weaving his way round the playground.
I have to say I am more than a little proud of the little guy for riding his bike so young. He's the first of all his peers to be able to do it and so much younger than I was when I finally got going. Oliver doesn't seem to appreciate his achievement though. Other kids stabilizers seem to be invisible to him, so he just keeps telling me his other friends do it too, which is kind of sweet.
And I can't comment on this achievement without pointing out that it's all down to buying him his "Rothan" balance bike (from the wonderful Islabikes).
There was lots of time on the swings or playing with their friends who also joined us (Jack, William, Jessica, Dylan, Hannah, Andrew). At one point Lucy rather spookily insisted on giving the invisible child a push on the swing.
Later in the afternoon, while Lucy napped, Oliver and I wandered off to another part of the park where we played all sorts of games of his making. I was a dog that he rode. Then I was a giant. Then we climbed a tree (really). Then we roled down a hill. Then we raced... It was a good hour or more of the sort of relaxed quality time playing with him that I never get chance to have during the week. It was so nice not to be watching the clock.
Afterwards he was on his bike again and as he rode past some flowerbeds he sang a song about riding in the countryside. As a keen mountain biker, it struck me that here was my son enjoying exactly what I do: riding a bike amid beautiful scenery. It was a touching moment and served again to remind me how fast he is growing up.
Eventually the skies started to threaten a late afternoon downpour after the heat of the day, so we headed home, Hayley and Lucy choosing the car, while I walked alongside the little man who, of course, chose his bike.
This year, after the wash-out of 12 months ago, I decided to sit out the racing at Mountain Mayhem 2009 and instead to go along for the spectacle. As well as offering a little encouragement to those friends who were still riding, it gave me the chance to take Oliver camping for the first time.
We decided Lucy was a bit young, not so much for her own good as much as the for the riders who would need their sleep on Saturday night and certainly wouldn't get it should Lucy decide she wanted to stay awake.
So last Friday evening I packed the car with camping essentials and Oliver and I headed off to Eastnor Castle Deer Park in the Malverns.
We got there just before sunset and I piled our things into the tent. Oliver played happily with my friend Dave's son, Lewis, who he has met a couple of times before. With all the unpacking and reunions with people we tend only to see at this gathering, it was 11pm before the little man and I hit the sack. He wasn't keen at first, complaining that he didn't want to go to bed, but once in the tent he was fine.
It rained for several hours in the night but we woke to a day that was to be marked by spells of very warm sunshine and just a single shower.
After a breakfast of shreddies, Oliver and Lewis took up where they had left off playing the night before and it quickly became apparent that they got on very well, playing with characters, role-playing (pretending to be fireman in our cars) and generally making a bit more mess with our limited supplies of water than we'd have liked as they made swimming pools for their animal characters.
On a whim, and without much real expectation, both myself and Lewis's Dad had taken the boys' Cnoc bikes.
"Perhaps we'll have them both riding before the weekend is out" I had joked on Thursday. Well, blow me down: we did! We had a large gently sloping area of grass next to our camping pitch and I pushed Oliver gently down it, running with him before letting go.... and he carried on pedalling and steering himself! I was absolutely thrilled. I told Oliver how proud I was of him and made a big fuss of him. Of course he didn't think half of much of it as me!
Later, I managed to persuade him to let me film him short clip of him to show Hayley. He wasn't very keen by this point but at least it shows him riding unaided.
While the boys had lunch, Dave and I went to ride some demo bikes: a Whyte E-120 and a Whyte titanium hardtail that retailed at over £3100! To be fair it felt like three grands worth of bike: light as a feather and fast! We rode a test track up and down hill for 45 minutes before chatting with one of the Whyte designers.
By now the race start was approaching. I took Oliver (who had eaten very little while I was riding) for a second chance of lunch at the cafe, which we finished just before the start.
Then it was back to our campsite for an afternoon full of riding bikes - mostly his Rothan for Oliver which spared my back pushing him - playing with the other kids there, chucking frisbees, leaving me even a little time to strum my ukulele!
Oliver was also rather fascinated by the fresh scar carried by fellow camper Gary who had recently dropped a hedge trimmer on his lower shin. Oliver even took pleasure in touching the stitches (or whatever they really are nowadays - more like little fancy band-aid strips).
I made the little man some ham sandiwches for dinner and he played on until about 9pm. I have never known him have a more active day. He was running or (push-)cycling around all evening. When he finally cleaned his teeth and went to bed he was asleep in a 2 minutes flat.
I stayed up a while longer, watching the lights of the riders pass by on the nearby climb and was also rewarded with a display of lanterns being sent up from the neighbouring Eastnor castle. There must have been over fifty of them. Very atmospheric if not a little ghostly as they floated up into the darkness of the summer night.
Sunday saw us rise around 7am and do not too much. We ambled over and watched kids climbing the climbing wall brought by the army and Oliver had an ice-cream after having an early lunch. After that we headed off home to enjoy Father's Day with Hayley and Lucy.
On the way home, Oliver told me he liked camping. And he clearly had fun with Lewis. In fact when Lewis's Mum asked him what had he done that weekend that was really great, instead of saying "I rode my bike" as she had expected, he told her "me and Lewis are best friends".
I had a great weekend with the little man. It's one I know I'll always look back on fondly. Not just for him riding his bike for the first time, but for other moments like him choosing to fall asleep holding my hand as he lay beside me in the tent on Saturday night. You can't buy memories like that.
(There are some more pictures from the weekend here.)
Having just celebrated my own birthday, I am as excited about ordering this for Oliver as I would be ordering a bike for myself. Hell, who am I kidding, I am more excited!
It's another offering from Islabikes, a company specialising in bikes for kids. This one is the Cnoc 14 (pronounced as in "knock").
I have measured Oliver and he seems to be the right size for it now. He is very confident on his Rothan (see earlier posts), so I think the time has come to see if he can add pedaling and braking to his existing cycling skills.
It's due to arrive in about a week. Watch this space.
When I first heard Lucy shouting for one of us to get up at around 6.24 this morning I can't say I knew with certainty that I would have a great day.
But I needn't have worried.
By 7.28am both kids were up, dressed and looked like this.
How could I not feel happy!
We headed downstairs where Oliver announced that he wanted organic oat pancakes for breakfast. (OK, he asked for pancakes and I'm throwing in the detail so you imagine all our diet is so healthy.)
Lucy, who will do absolutely anything her brother does, decided to have the same. (Note to self: start looking for finishing school for Lucy.)
After breakfast Oliver, who had a late night last night after accompanying me to the bike shop to pick up my bike, decided to have a little lie down and climbed into the buggy.
Soon enough though we were out and about, first heading to Borders to man-handle lots of books, read slightly fewer and buy even less. Both kids sat quietly reading like this for the whole time we were there.
Yeah right! After a good start, Lucy's attention span diminished to be as small as was her interest large in every child who came into the reading area. When it became clear that further reading was unlikely to be possible, we headed to the check-out via some playstation drums which each of them obviously had to try.
After lunch they made cakes, supervised by Mummy and assisted by their new friend Emma.
After the cakes were iced, Lucy and Emma finished of the cake mix.
A few minutes in the oven and some further decoration later (by Lucy and Mummy)...
...and voila! (Don't worry, none of the licked decorations made it onto cakes!)
Before dinner, Oliver and I went for a ride on my bike with his tag-a-long bike attached. Our destination was a field down by the river where there were some horses who would appreciate some of our carrots and an apple. It took us a while to get there as we stopped off at two parks along the way. An when we finally arrived, Oliver (in a move reminiscent of his younger days) would only let the horses have the carrots, eating the apple himself.
After dinner and some play at home, it was time for bed. Lucy threw up some of her bedtime milk (as she still does from time to time) but moments later after being cleaned up was in good humour, even singing a little of her lullaby (in tune!) before heading back to her room for hugs with Mummy.
This morning I made the sort of no-nonsense, optimistic remark that I might usually hesitate to make lest fate might decide to make an ass of me. Hayley was hanging out of the bedroom window looking down into the garden where Lucy, Oliver and I were playing. I told her "I think this is going to be a great summer for us. One to remember."
And why shouldn't it be. We are getting married. We have our brown eyed boy and our blue eyed girl. Even the weather here is supposed to be good for a change. What is more, Oliver and Lucy are at ages where they are not only adorable in their own rights, but they are also very close in a way that will surely fade in years to come.
So it was with good cheer in my heart that I started this sunny Saturday. Hayley then surprised me by trying a new hair style which I think rather suits her.
We then dropped the kids with friends (of ours and theirs) while we took in a wedding fayre in Stockport for a few more ideas and maybe a band. (Yes, we still haven't got one.) It turned out to be a bit small but that meant we had time for a Subway and (for me) even a swift half in a pub to catch a few minutes of the footy.
We picked up the kids who promptly fell asleep. When they woke we all went to the park, Hayley and Lucy by buggy while Oliver and I went by bike-plus-tagalong. I had planned to take Oliver for a ride further afield but he knew so many children at the park that we ended up staying their the whole of the rest of the afternoon.
Memorable moments included Oliver and his friend Jess taking me by the hands and running me round the playground as they were "rescuing me", though Jess several times said she was "taking me to the vets". Later, Oliver and a nursery friend chased round the playground "getting baddies". This included approaching a group of four, aged around 14, one boy from whom Oliver pointed out as the "baddy", much to the amusement of the boy's friends. I did have to take an interest at this point, as Oliver was waving a stick dangerously if inadvertently close to them as he expounded his views. I also spent a fair amount of time being leapt on, first by Oliver and Jess, then by Oliver and Alberto. However, most memorable was probably the moment when Jess and Oliver were "rescuing" me from a tree, by each pulling on one of my legs as I sat astride a branch. Just the memory makes my eyes water a little!
Meanwhile. Lucy insisted on going up the slide as well as down it.
On coming home Oliver took an interest in my Camelbak hydration pack (or "bladder" as we straightforwardly call them in these parts). To my surprise he immediately got the knack of biting the valve to release water flow and simultaneously sucking to drink.
Later, Lucy also took an interest. Much to my surprise she also managed to master the technique.
At bedtime Oliver asked whether he could replace his customary sippy cup that he keeps in his bed with a Camelbak. Sadly I had to decline his request.
But they both went to bed happy and if you throw in the fact that Hayley made a delicious vegetarian Jalfrezi this evening, plus a whole lot of laughter along the way, then you have a pretty terrific day. May the coming summer see many many more.
This evening we rode to the chippy then ate our chips in the park sitting on our coats. I always think the simple pleasures in life are the greatest and this was a case in point.
They say charity begins at home. Well in our case, I think it begins in someone else's home. Today, friends Andy and Louise gave us a tagalong bike for Oliver. Not only that, they gave us another bike for Oliver (which sadly turns out to be a bit too big for him at the moment), a trailgator, a smart little children's table with two chairs and a nice armchair for Oliver.
I'm sure you'll agree this is generous, but I must add that this is not the first time I have benefited from the fact that their children outgrow things just in time for mine to benefit. I've already had numerous of their car seats. And before I even had kids they already gave me a 3 piece suite!
They are very modest in their generosity, saying these things would go to the charity shop otherwise, but regardless of who benefits it is still mightily generous in my opinion.
We try to give away lots of clothes and toys to friends/relatives and recently gave away Lucy's old cot. Let's face it, in the current economic climate, most of us are glad of a little financial lift. And so while we might sell the odd thing on eBay and give more to charity shops, it's always nicer to be able to give for free to someone you know will appreciate it. I certainly know we appreciate the good fortune to have friends like Andy and Louise.
On May 31st I will be riding the modest (but not insignificant) distance from Manchester to Liverpool to raise money for the Mines Advisory Group, a humanitarian organisation clearing the remnants of conflict for the benefit of communities worldwide.
MAG's work recovers land for conflict-affected communities and allows children to play in the sort of safety we take for granted, hence my choice.
If you would like to donate you can visit my fundraising page at JustGiving.com where it is as easy as falling off a bike to donate. Every penny counts and any donation will be greatly appreciated.
Thank you for your support.
(Despite appearances, my daughter is very supportive too.)
Not only does my local Decathlon store provide a good supply of reasonably priced sporting goods, but in the winter months it provides a spacious place for me and the kids to go and amuse ourselves. I check out the cycling gear and sometimes buy them clothes, while they try out the various balls, flip-flops, gloves, torches...
And of course there's plenty of space for them to run around. But today we took Oliver's Islabike. Here he is practicing his balancing skills. (Out of shot, Lucy is on her push-along trike which I am trying to manoeuvre, hence the occasionally wobbly shot.)
I'd been meaning to post about the referendum on a Congestion Charge for Manchester. (Or more accurately, a congestion charge for Greater Manchester as the proposed zone includes 13 metropolitan boroughs.)
This morning as I lay in bed, knowing the result was decided as yesterdays ballot return deadline passed, I reprimanded myself for not posting about it before. Heck, I could have even set up a whole new site about it! What if the result was the wrong one when if it weren't for my laziness I could have swung the few vital votes?
I needn't have worried. The result was a resounding "No".
When I first heard of the proposed congestion charge I was entirely open to the idea. But as time went on and I saw what improvements were on offer as a result of the charge, it became clear to me that it wasn't a good deal.
Let me give you some illustrations.
The charge is designed to ease congestion caused by commuter traffic heading in and out of Manchester. To do this, an outer and inner zone were defined. Traffic passing into those zones in the morning "rush hour" would be charged, as would traffic passing out in the evening "rush hour".
So if, like our family, you live half a mile inside the outer boundary (mostly defined by the M60 motorway), you would be charged for taking your child to nursery half a mile outside the boundary as you return from dropping him off. It's only a short local journey but it is charged the same as if we've commuted 40 miles in a company car. Thankfully Oliver's nursery is now on this side of the boundary, but his old one wasn't so it's a real example.
Many years ago I moved to Stockport so that I wasn't commuting 80 miles a day to and from work. Ever since I have used my bike quite often to commute the much reduced 6 mile round trip to/from the office. (I did today as it happens.) I kept a record for a while and found that in recent years my best efforts saw me commuting by bike between 30% and 50% of the time over the year.
But we still have two cars as the demands of combining work and family life make it feel almost a necessity. We've discussed before the possibility of getting rid of one of the cars. It would need me to increase the number of times I commute by bike and let Hayley give me a lift much of the rest of the time. It's far from ideal but perhaps just about feasible.
But the congestions charge would have made that an impossibility. I work half a mile outside the outer boundary so on returning from dropping me at work Hayley would be charged.
"What about public transport", I hear you ask? Well, the cost of the journey to work is about 11 times the cost in petrol. Having to use two buses, it would also take at least 3 times as long. Quicker to walk in fact.
"What about the promised improvements in exchange for the charge?" Well, the Metrolink (tram) system wouldn't be extended to Stockport. (it was promised and then cut several years ago.) There would be no new bus routes, only more frequent services on some routes. Oh and they would refurbish the bus station. Whoop-ee-doo!
The final nail in the charge's coffin for me was the totally one-sided reporting of it - pulled up by the regulator at least once - and the patronising premise that the proposal was the only option and the only chance of getting some money to improve public transport. Poppycock!
The sad truth is that the two-ring scheme is far too clumsy an instrument with which to fairly levy a travel tax on those doing the most damage. Having made a green decision nearly two decades ago to reduce my carbon footprint, to live and work in the same community, to think global and act local, I'm not exactly jumping at the chance to pay the same as someone who drives 100 miles a day from their country pile.
It's an opportunity missed, without doubt. I hope that in years to come a fairer system can be devised. I mean we already live in a world where every other car has Sat Nav, its driver almost certainly has a mobile phone and the roads are watched by an army of cameras. Can it really be that hard to figure something out?
You can read about the congestion charge voting here (where there are also links to other relevant sites).
Today I collected Oliver from nursery on my bike. It's the second week running I've done this on Friday (for reasons that will become apparent sometime soon) and on both occasions I've been lucky to have glorious sunshine.
On both occasions also we went direct to the playground in our local park for some fun in the sun. This afternoon when we finished, rather than walking home with an ice-cream as we did last week, Oliver requested a ride before we went home. So I took him along some off-road paths in our area as he merrily sang away. He had been full of beans from the moment I collected him from nursery, charging around the park shouting "Come on Daddy" with a big smile as we ran over to say hello to some child he knows in passing and who looked nonplussed when he greeted them like a long lost friend.
After a particularly fun downhill section, he shouted "let's do that again", so I dutifully turned about and headed back up-hill. But within a minute he had gone quiet and I felt his bike helmet poke me in the back. He had fallen asleep. From full-on to flat-out in 60 seconds!
I reclined his seat before meandering to the chippy, our regular Friday evening destination, where I managed to order from the door and then pay without him stirring.
I then got the little man all the way home (with our lightly battered haddock, chips and peas warm against my stomach, under my coat) before he woke. Then, after this 30 minute nap, it was immediately like he'd never been asleep. I wish I could do that!
Love him or loathe him, there's no denying that Lance Armstrong has been a phenomenon in cycling, an inspiration to many and a powerful force for good in his work for cancer charities through the Lance Armstrong Foundation.
Personally, having read his book "It's Not About The Bike" and watched him win 7 Tour de France races in style, I can't help admiring the guy despite his Texan cockiness.
But what will be more important than where he finishes in next year's race will be how he raises the profile of cancer and how to tackle it across the globe. Success in that arena may yet be his greatest epitaph.
After a long gap, Oliver has taken to riding his Islabike again, this time getting the knack of sitting down to ride it instead of instinctively standing up. After some success within the confines of our living room, we decided to take it to the park.
I was delighted to see him really start to take to it. Hs isn't yet rolling down hills with his legs in the air like some of the videos you find on You Tube, but he certainly builds up speed on the flat and it needs a brisk walk for me to keep up with him. Not bad, given he's only spent about half an hour on it in total since we got it out again.
Today I came home to find Oliver has taken to riding his Islabike around the living room, sitting down on the seat this time, unlike his earlier ventures. Hayley had been encouraging him while I was at work and the two of them kept telling me I would have a surprise when I got home, which indeed I did. I hadn't expected him to try to ride it again until the summer.
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