March 2008 Archives

Today I ran my first cross-country since I was an 11 year old,  and boy was it an eye opener! No shortcuts, no fag-smoking bullies, no running in your underwear, and no hot tea and buns at the end (I didn't get these at school either but I was hoping for them today. In the end Lesley and Marie had to go off to get some teas for everyone).

Organised by Woodstock Harrier's running club, the event was held at Clanfield in Oxfordshire around a few farmer's fields.  Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on your perverse point of view), the weather had been 'rather inclement' over the past few days, and all night last night, so the ground was very wet and muddy.  I bought myself some new Mizuno Wave Ascend 3 since they're designed for trail running and are more grippy than my normal running shoes.

It was a relay-style race, and I was in a mixed team of 4 from Eynsham Road Runners (I'm finally an official member), with Jane, Linda and Anthony.  I was out first and so didn't really know what to expect.   The ground at the start was pretty muddy and claggy, so I was expecting it to be hard going, but I wasn't expecting 6-inch deep water around most of the course!  The rain held off for most of the way, but the wind really kicked in at the end and that was a real killer. 

It was good fun though, overall. As ever, it's always fun once you've finished.  I was happy with my 27:30 for the 3 mile course (it was meant to be 5k but they apparently cut it short because of the weather - no idea what they cut out though as they obviously didn't avoid any 'wet bits').  I'll definitely do more cross country (as Graham pointed out, I have 6 or so months to come up with an excuse before the season really takes off again!), but maybe next time I'll wear warmer clothes.

I wrote last week about how drivers and cyclists should all try to get along better.  One of the points was that cyclists need to respect red lights, in the same way we expect drivers to. 

At a recent unofficial Chicago bike race, a cyclist was killed whilst riding through a red light.  The unfortunate driver who killed him now has to live their life knowing they've ended someone else's.  This is a real tragedy and what annoys me more than anything is the stupidity of one of the organisers, who seems to think that it's the drivers, society's, the government's, or the fault of anyone other than the cyclist or the organisers.
"To blame the victim for dying such a tragic death I think is an injustice. And I think it's an injustice that our culture is so embedded into auto use and the convenience of autos that we are willing to let our friends and loved ones be killed," said Wilson, West Town Bikes.

Don't be a prick. Wear a helmet and respect red lights.  Here's the full story

Edit: Apologies that I forgot to say that this story came to me via The Fredcast (sorry, Dave). If you aren't tuning in every week (or so), you're missing out on some of the best cycling news, reviews and commentary there is.  Go and try it now.

I'm often amazed by how thoughtless, arrogant, reckless and downright stupid both drivers and cyclists can be - Yes: both cyclists and drivers.   We all let our minds wander at times when we're in the car or on the bike, and yes, we're often in a rush to get to our meeting, or get out of the cold, but for goodness sake, people...

As a driver and a cyclist, and someone who's been the cause and victim of various incidents both in the car and on the bike, I feel in a position to give my advice to you all.