Once Around the Block…

Over the last few days Iv taken the ‘Brommie’ up to explore the backwaters of Perthshire and Kinross to try out some new kit and to get some hill work in.

All has gone well and over 60miles were clocked up on Strava. The new gearing and chain set was an improvement and the little Brompton performed well up the hills and clocked over 30mph on the downs.

Like all top level elite cyclists you have to take all the advantages you can to get top performance when it comes to cadence. Some use blood enhancers such as EPO to boost endurance and some take anabolic steroids and cocaine combinations in search of the ultimate PB. 

For me, well Iv have found something much better as my secret weapon…I now use Africa’s Finest, a product found locally in any Dubai deli, and it works a treat. 

I take a couple of spoonfuls before I set off and before you know it, my legs are going like the clappers in order to get home as quickly as possible!!

This track by ‘Badly Drawn Boy’ was Damon Gough, a scruffy lad from Bedford with this wonderful Britpop tune from the 90’s.

Favourite…

Start is now only T minus 18 days and counting…

So what’s a Brompton?

I really need more time than Iv got here to explain properly the beauty and ingenuity of this perfectly crafted piece of art/bicycle.

Created by Will Butler-Adams back in 1975, anyone who has seen one, folded one or ridden one can appreciate the fantastic design and quality. Everything about the Brompton is unusual, probably part of the appeal to me. 

Mine is a UK built 2009 M3L 3 speed model in Apple Green, steel frame with 16” wheels and weighs in around 12kg so this little favourite fella can come with me on the plane.

What could possibly go wrong…?

Love this band and here with a dreamy track off ‘Romance’ in 2024 - Fontaines DC is todays choice for the blog track featuring also lots of little bikes in the video.

Childhood and Innocence: The song explores the innocence of youth and the inevitable process of growing older. It touches on the "monotony of adult life" compared to the freedom of childhood.

Running/Planning…

 So, this weekend the planning stage of the trip is in full swing…

Start is now only T minus 19 days and counting…

The basic plan…

Embark on the ‘Camino de Santiago’, an 800km pilgrim trail from St. Jean Pied-de-Port in French France, walk over the Pyrenees into Spain and then on to Santiago de Compostela taking the Camino Frances route.

It should take around a month, staying each night in traditional hostels, exploring the regional food 🍱 and culture along the way.

On 29th April Im now booked to fly to Madrid, stay overnight and then take a train to Pamplona where I can take a bus 🚌 to the start.

To complicate things I’m prepping my trusty vintage fold up Brompton bicycle 🚲

More about that old boy next…

Just love this song, a perfect track from CMAT (and a great vid) for a bit of a planning blog.

Parklife…

I get up when I want except on Wednesdays when I get rudely awakened by the dustmen (Parklife)

I put my trousers on, have a cup of tea and I think about leaving the house (parklife)

I feed the pigeons, I sometimes feed the sparrows too

It gives me a sense of enormous wellbeing (parklife) and then I'm happy for the rest of the day

Safe in the knowledge there will always be a bit of my heart devoted to it…

I didn’t spring out of bed the same today, not sure if it was because I didn’t have to or the fact that I have an ache or two from yesterday’s walk?

I need to evaluate my fitness if I’m going to complete my solo challenge.

My feet, knees and calves seem fine but, bear with me as I’m not a medical expert, the muscles that connect my bumcakes to my legs seem to be affecting my ability to climb stairs…surely I don’t need a Stannah stairlift yet??

With the lyrics from Blur's "Parklife," and the phrase “you should cut down on your pork life, mate, get some exercise" ringing in my ears, I realise that I have probably been sat on my arse for too long and now solemnly swear to keep more active from now until eternity…but not today, it’s raining!

To cap it all this arrived by email…

Is this the start of the old age medical world where I just go back and forth from the local surgery? I’l nip round on my way back from the tip with a pre-filled bucket of samples and see if they will settle for that??

You would need to be brain dead not to know this indie banger for today’s track so it needs no introduction, just enjoy the tune and the video.

Birth, School, Work, Death…

So, today, as I spring out of bed and put the kettle on, I use the time it takes to boil to evaluate my life… 

Iv just turned 60, I’m now a pensioner and now have no job and therefore need to ask myself…“So, what happens now?”

It would appear that I have an undefined period of time left on the planet so I thought I’d make an early start in being proactive and try using Chat LGBGT for inspiration.

‘Ready to turn your retirement into a thrilling new chapter?’…Yep, Sure am!

‘Discover 25 exciting ideas to keep your days vibrant, engaging, and full of joy’- 10 mins read.

…sounds like just what I need!

Pigeon fancier

Classic car restoration

Golf

Metal detecting

Grow your friendship group

Gently moving….

STOP…That will do, il start with this easy one first and build up to the more technical stuff in time as I have an unknown period of life left before it needs to get complicated.

It’s just ‘nearly’ turned Spring, but rather than contemplating and ranking my favourite top ten shrubs or watching David Dickinsons ‘tantastic’ antique bargains in the sun, I need to get a wriggle on, I have loads of stuff to do and now a bit more time to do it…there is a bit more life in this old blogger yet!

…Today I’m also back on Strava so I can ‘walk the earth’ to reflect, just like Caine in Kung Fu (circa. 1972): Meet people, Get in Adventures.etc.

Over the next few weeks I need to do some prep for a big solo trip which il record and blog about so watch this space, if ur interested, as the planning will start in ‘Ernest’…as it always does!

 "It's not the years in your life that count, it's the life in your years"

Indie band ‘The Godfathers’ start us off with a tune from my indie era of 1985.

And as someone once said “If this song isn’t played at my funeral, I’m not going”…wise words indeed!

Birdhouse in your soul…

Leaving our Iken Park Residence apartment in Founty and heading off to Al-Massira International airport gave me chance to see the extent of the development in Agadir. It’s on a huge scale, but the largest seen, by a long chalk, was the unfinished Kempinski Royal Palace, located a couple of minutes walk away. It is undoubtedly, one of the city's most prominent "ghost hotels".

 Its history interested me to find out that it is defined by a decade-long legal and financial battle that has left the massive structure a skeleton of its intended luxury. 

Crazy to think that this remains the legacy of Rafic Hariri, a 60 year old man, a billionaire and then President of Lebanon who got assassinated, in a massive truck bomb, by Hezbollah back in 2005 in Beirut.

Now, in 2026 it’s just a massive birdhouse!!

Is such a complex life driven by political power and money worth it?

As we prepare to leave the sunshine we wish the ‘Atlas lions’ 🦁 footballers all the best in the final tomorrow and head back to the frozen north.

See you for the next ride…..THE END

‘They Might be Giants’ came up with this in 1990 and if I had a massive birdhouse palace I would make a video like this too…

Riptide…

Surfs up Dudes…!

…back on the road to recovery it’s time to head for ‘Le Plage’ today. 

With a choice of adrenaline pumped water sports on offer I opted for a gentle walk up the promenade for a bit of fresh air - il just let the photographer command the blog today.

Agadir Beachfront Promenade

 

 

I like this version of ‘Riptide’, originally by ‘Vance Joy’, but this cover by UK’s Jasmine Thompson is a great version IMO…