A light bite

Just Giving! Please sponsor me….

Nick — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 21:50:56 +0000

De Ja Vu

Nick — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 13:15:11 +0000

Just remembering the good old days…..

World Cup Final 2007

Nick — Sat, 20 Oct 2007 23:58:20 +0000

So after watching France dump the Kiwi’s out of the RWC 2007 at the Millenium Stadium. The two disgruntled Kiwi’s we were sat next to offered us their tickets to the final.

£250 later Oli and I are on our way to the FINAL!! After getting just 3 hours sleep I realise that I have left my passport at home. So whilst on the the train I manage to wake up my dad who amazingly drives down the M25 to the Clacket lane services to deliever my passport. We make it to the ferry terminal only to find that we are subject to a 3 hour delay courtesy of the French striking.Eventually we make our way across the channel, pick up some hitch hikers and make our way to the centre of Paris. Unsprisingly we hit traffic in Paris and decide that it best to stay up at by the stadium. Finally we get on the beers and sink a few before entering the gates to the Stadium, VERY excited. Not only untill we are in there do we realise that it is an alcohol free stadium. Not cool. The game itself turns out to be a non starter and bar the disallowed try the game was void of any real excitment.Afterward the final whistle and we had officially lost we rushed back into town, checked into our hotel and made our way out to meet Oli’s friend. All in all we had a hell of a weekend but the game didn’t serve us as well as had wanted!

Sailing around the world

Nick — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 12:44:22 +0000

Toby and I have come up with our next wacky idea. This one involves us sailing from New York to San Francisco on a 65ft sail boat….

This is to be accomplished at some point in the next 5 years time, so the wheels are in motion. First port of call, sailing school!!

Keep posted for updates.

Ships Manifest – Chimera 07 – Thessonaliki (Greece) 16th August to 24th August 2007

Nick — Sat, 25 Aug 2007 12:55:16 +0000

Crew:Nick SmithFraser HandcockLucas HutchingsRob MackieCassie HutchingsLinley TaberMahley ThompsonThree whirlwind days in London were finally over and I was on my way to Gatwick to catch my late flight to Greece. It would be 3.30am when I would land and meet a very weary Rob would had traveled for 26 hours to get here.Upon arrival at our rendezous point we had a fair few hours to kill in the hotel, and as a room was €240 we decided to sleep outside on the deck chairs surrounding the pool and wait for the boat to arrive. By the time the boat had arrived and delirium had finally been lifted it had already reached a phenomenal temperature, which set a precedent for the rest of the holiday.The boat itself was magnificent everything I had expected and more, which I didn’t think was that possible and after a tour and a catch up, we set about getting ready for the arrival of the others. Fraser and Linley were the next arrivals followed by Mahley later that night.The first night out certainly was to set another precedent for the holiday! A very late night accompanied by a skinfull of alcohol, but at least everyone now knew they were on holiday. For me I finally realised that I had stopped cycling and was now on wind down mode. Although a piece of me wanted to still be on the road, but I am not sure that that will ever go.Our illustrious Captain Dimitrious had the boat moving by 11am which certainly felt like an early wake up call! Unlike my other trips with Lucas and Cassie this one involved significantly less sailing. After scouring the bays in the surrounding area for a spot of ocean that wasn’t riddled with Jelly-fish we finally settled on a less infested area and got the toys out and messed around for the afternoon and early evening.However in the morning we pushed on to a new bay to try and get away from these Jelly-fish. So we ended up having to settle for this bay that was protected from the wind on all sides, had no other boats, with water as calm as a lake and there wasn’t a Jelly-fish in sight, (Bugger). So once again the toys were all blown up and readied and we all set to work. Cassie and Lucas as always effortlessly skiing straight back into rhythm with the rest of us labouring to perfect the basics. Although Fraser and I attempted mono-skiing, it certainly didn’t come easily, with more painful wipe-outs, swallowed sea water and encounters with the actual ski itself. Although we were both able to ski on one for differing lengths of time by no means was it mastered but more punishment was required.So the biscuit and the banana were tied to the back of the jet-ski so that we could jump from one another as we raced along. Everyone took to this activity and everyone suffered varying degrees of abuse. Mostly arising from the crashes, with legs and heads connecting with various body parts on impact, or stray elbows or handoff’s. A special mention of bravery to Rob, who once again on a boat holiday manages to injury himself, breaking his little finger after catching on a handle on one such ‘banana-biscuit’ crossing.Whilst on the subject of injuries, a few words should be written about Mahley’s arse. On one of the first few days Lucas took Mahley out on the Jet-ski and in traditional style through her off! This time however his efforts weren’t going to provide the mental image a kin to Codge skimming 4 or 5 times over the surface of the water, but a visual one, a bruise which engulfed her left butt cheek.As some people were certainly intent on adding to bumps and bruises, there was the tanning contingent, Linley. One may say that she has taken holiday tanning to somewhat of a professional level, with unparralled commitment. Mahely wasn’t far behind with her efforts but was generally adding to her already colourful bodily palette. I would like to say that the award for the most tanned crew member should go to me, I will lie and name Linley as the winner. (just remember I gave you the victory!!)Generally the evenings activities involved spear fishing with Dimitrious, eating fish and the odd Octopus head, various card and dice games which inevitably led to the consumption of a lot of booze (Jager) and a little nudity! Night swimming, a strange hat and camouflage themed night and for me and a certain someone, “a healthy make out session”.All in all the holiday was a riot and it was lovely to have made 2 new friends especially ones from across the pond.Holiday SummarySong of the trip: Goldie Looking Chain – Your Mother’s Got a PenisFavoriteStory: Mahley’s Australia tale and Linleys beach house story. Quote of the Trip: “Those titties was bouncing ” (get audio from lucas) Photo of the holiday: Video of the Holiday: Injury of the holiday: Tie – Rob’s broken finger and Mahleys arse bruiseDrink of the Trip: Jaegermeister

The End

Nick — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 14:44:17 +0000

So as I type this entry, I am on my own in Barcelona after putting Dave onto a ferry at 3pm this afternoon. What is sad is that it really did signal the end of the trip after 30 days on the road. To be honest it realy felt like we were away for an eternity but I suppose when you are really using every minute of every day time takes a long time to pass.

So to conclude, 1200 miles, 5 punctures, a pair of speedo’s, 50 baguettes and more pasta and tuna you could ever want to eat in an entire lifetime, I will be leaving Barcelona for Menorca at 21.30 to have a rest. As a final thought, if you are ever in need of inspiration set your self a goal and then beat it. The realisation that the abilities that you posses far surpass your original expectations is a unequiviocal. Challenge your self everyday and live the rewards.

The Pyrenees

Nick — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 18:46:00 +0000

40 Miles – I am not sure how to summise what happened to me today. I suppose I will start with the fact that we knew that we had 2 more days cycling left, in itself a small relief. So when we woke to an enormous thunderstorm and pelting rain we should have realised that the day was not ever going to be a easy one.And by God did we realise this within the first 10 miles. We were edgeing round the mountains on the coastal road with cars as per usual crusing past with millimeters of space to spare. However this was the least of our worries as the climbs that faced us were brutal at best. All I could do was laugh and switch off and hoped the legs would keep going. They did and we cleared the mountains to the breathtaking view of the valley floor which lay below.A grumpy Dave agreed to camp at Fernelles even though we had only done 40 miles. I was grateful for the rest and it was agreed that the next day we would get up at 6am to start the final push down the N11 to Barcelona.

Being Picked Up!

Nick — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 10:49:01 +0000

An amusing tale from our trip…Twas another in different day and Dave and I had just hit 35 miles on route to Pornichet. Having left the Cote d’amour with nothing but a slightly lighter wallet, something very strange happened.As the traffic streamed past us with no real regard for personal space, a black Citroen C3 came passed windows down and shouting what I thought at the time to be abuse. I ignored it but further up the road I had noticed Dave recieving the same treatment, but again the car moved on with the traffic.It wasnt untill i had navigated the roundabout to find Dave pulled over with the Citreon in front holding up the roundabout. I stopped behind Dave and realised that in the car was 2 middleaged ladies and their daughters.After a little conversation in Frenglish, the lady driver took our map and circled her house, which was south of Nantes, wrote her name number and address on the page and told us if we needed a bed/meal etc then to pop in.

As they drove off Dave and I looked at each other with the realisation that we had just been picked up!!!!! God Bless the French!

Paddock Wood – Portsmouth (85 miles)

Nick — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 08:17:27 +0000

After arriving around midnight the night before the push off, I realised I may not be quite as well prepared for the ‘holiday’ as I had first thought.

I had rushed to get my bike serviced, chased a bike rack across London and spent more money than I had really budgeted for. Not really the most promising or highly efficent days. To top it off I had only booked the ferry that morning!!

Having picked up my bike in Holborn after having had it serviced I mounted it for the first time with all the weight on the back, Shit the bed!!! (a phrase that became a regular on major roads). 28kg makes quite a difference to your ride, agaion something I had never really thought about.

I made it to Picadilly and to Toby’s flat, I needed someone to tell me that I was doing the right thing and once I got going I would be fine. Instead I got “Bloody hell mate are you crazy? Remember to lean forward when you are going up hills”. However I did take the opportunity to unpack and strip out any non-essentials which may have removed a kilo.

Upon arrival Dave ushered me and the bike into the garage to inspect his new purchase, “The Camel”, which it findly became known as. First inpressions was that he had bought a veteran sherpa to take him up Everest and not a young atheltic one who could carry you aswell if need be. First lesson, don’t judge a book by its cover!

After stripping out more stuff that night and early the next morning. We fueled ourselves with a massive fry up and made some sandwichs and left Paddock Wood around 7am, with Dave’s Mum, Dad and Sister waving us off.

The very first road we hit was one used by the Tour de France the week before so that spured me on for all of 2 seconds. However we were on our way and just had to remember the ferrry we had to catch by 10pm that night.

The Ride – Having only ever done 30 miles from Hampstead to Sunningdale before I definately wasn’t prepared for the distance that lay ahead. However we broke it into sections and pushed on. Those who say London is a dangerous place to cycle do have a point but I would trade all the days riding in London to never go over the South Downs again, 5 mph climbing can really kill ones spirit.

Needless to say by lunch we had covered 50 miles with no major problems bar fatigue and we stopped in a pub for lunch. Oh yes Dave is fast asleep!

All hell broke loose after this. I started to get the chaffing from hell from the new ‘Nappy style’ lyrcas that I had bought and a clip on Dave’s new pannier broke. However after stopping in a little town, I managed to pick up a heaven sent pair of Speedo’d which bought everything in that little bit closer and stopped the chaffing. Dave on the other hand had to wait till Chichester and a very very helpful bike shop who sort it out free of charge. Perhaps a lucky escape but I think we had definatley earnt it by the end of the day!

At around 8pm we pulled into the ferry port, tierd, proud but still in fairly good spirits thanks to the Walkie-Talkie’s we had which meant we could keep in touch easily whilst on the road.

On board the ferry, and after solving a minor strop by Dave about the sleeping arrangements. We upgraded to a cabin, showered and went to bed. Although we could only have been out for a couple of minutes when another man who was sharing our cabin entered the room to leave as quickly as he came in. I don’t blame him, we weren’t smelling sweetly and my socks were a little punchy.