Strangely Perfect

Mark Cavendish wins by 11cm over 185km! Gazzetta della sport run the race and have a Mario Cippollini interview here.  Websites and news agencies across the globe are full of Cavendish’s win but in Britain it’s a 15 second radio item and well-buried articles on the BBC etc.  Most UK news even forgets to mention [...]

Following GB cycling’s successes at the recent 2008 olympics and world championships, I was reminded about the accomplishments of Beryl Burton who died early over 10 years ago. It seems that in any sphere of human endeavour there is always one person who is head and shoulders better than anyone else.  We had the domination [...]

With the recent (overwhelming) successes by our cyclists at this years Olympics, one would think that this would spur even more people to get on a bike, lose a bit of flab, save a bit of money or even aspire to higher things. For all those new starters, there are one or two obstacles to [...]

My previous post, just before I went on a short break, warned that the Olympics might become a side-show in a widening chain of events.  This has turned out to be true.  My quotation from the Buddhist monk, Nichiren Daishonin, could now really have the word land exchanged for the more relevant world. If the [...]

If the nation is destroyed and people’s homes are wiped out, then where can one flee for safety? If you care anything about your personal security, you should first of all pray for order and tranquillity throughout the four quarters of the land, should you not? – Nichiren Daishonin / On Establishing the Correct Teaching [...]

People are mad, Not Cyclists People Are Mad, Not Cyclists; Extra Information Following on from these two previous posts where I mentioned the laughable penalties for killing someone who happens to be riding a bike and the weasely excuses, I hate to say that it’s another case of I told you so… £500 fine and [...]

I had a little titter to myself recently when several things collided.  Like many people who grew up in the seventies, I bought and read Eric von Daniken‘s book, Chariots of the Gods, and other similar rubbish on razor blade-sharpening pyramids and megalithic yards…. I’d completely and conveniently forgotten about all that despite living close [...]

Continuing commentary on the escalating crisis between Russia and Georgia, two nuclear weapons-equipped states sitting astride the world’s energy pipelines.