Weekend Fun

I've had a fab weekend and unfortunately I have to go to work tomorrow (boo hoo).

Yesterday I indulged in retail therapy of the knitting variety on Saturday and spent most of today watching the Tour de France. It was so great and I got lots of knitting done. I am now about two-thirds of the way through Vera's mid section helped by remembering the pattern and the new Knit Picks Harmony Wood needles I purchased yesterday.

I even went out on the bike today (spurred on by watching the Tour). This is only the second time I have riden the bike this year and I can not believe what a total wuss I am. You see, about 10 years ago I used to ride all the time. I was the proud owner of a very pink Muddy Fox mountain bike and went everywhere on it. I rode to work daily, did fun runs from London to Canterbury and from London to Brighton, and went cycling every weekend. I easily cycled between 40-80 miles every week and I NEVER put on weight.

Unfortunately, some s**t separated me from my bike and, when I could finally afford a replacement, it just was not right. In fact I hated the poor Raleigh that I bought and cycled less and less. Of course, life changes and I moved from the country into the city and I left my bike in the under stairs cupboard only taking it out for a spin once in 10 years.

So this year I decided to pull the bike out and overhaul it. I purchased some cycle shorts, shoes and a crash hat. I dressed up in my finery, hopped on the bike and discovered I was totally scared. I was so scared I scooted myself along and was unable to lift my left foot off the floor. For goodness sakes, I couldn't cycle anymore! After a couple more goes I finally managed to cycle but I didn't really enjoy it. I parked the bike in the garage, filed away the shorts and thought I might never cycle again.

However, I have been keeping up with the Tour . This encouraged me to dust everything down and go cycling early this evening. I am sure I cut a sorry figure as I developed confidence on the bike. The geometry of the Raleigh still feels wrong but I can live with it at the moment.

1. Helen, 2. Pasta, 3. St Bedes, 4. Blue, 5. Nick Cave, 6. Tea, 7. New Zealand, 8. Sticky Toffee Pudding, 9. Artisan, 10. Family, 11. Weird12. KnitCave

Also, there has been a little photo fun doing the blog rounds recently and I managed to loose some time to it.

a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
b. Using only the first page, pick an image.
c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd’s mosaic maker.

The questions:

1. What is your first name? Helen
2. What is your favorite food? Pasta
3. What high school did you go to? St Bede's
4. What is your favorite color? Blue
5. Who is your celebrity crush? Nick Cave
6. Favorite drink? tea
7. Dream vacation? New Zealand
8. Favorite dessert? Sticky Toffee Pudding
9. What you want to be when you grow up? artisan
10. What do you love most in life? family
11. One Word to describe you. weird
12. Your flickr name. KnitCave