Already looking forward to the London bike show.

I'd really like to buy a new bike this year. My trusty Kona is a lovely bike but...

• The wheels are heavy and nearly worn through at the rim,
• The chain set is a little shonky (It's actually fallen apart once on a ride)
• The rear derailler is bent beyond repair (by that I mean I've been told not to straighten it again)
• The brakes are awful (I realised the brakes on the brompton are much, much better)

I looked at replacing all the worn parts and I'm looking at a few hundred quid, which I might still do if I'm allowed to have 3 bikes.

David and I are off to the London bike show ostensibly to get him a new bike, and whilst I'm not in the position to buy one yet, I'm using the opportunity to see some possibles and some unobtainables in the flesh (carbon,steel and ti)

What do I need from this bike?

• Light. It's all relative isn't it? I mean around 8-9kgs for steel or ti and 7-8kgs for a carbon offering
• Comfortable. I'm going to ride it for 20 out of 24 hours in August
• Reliable. See above.
• Something I'm proud to ride.

I'm probably going to carry 2-3 water bottles a snack and a jacket, tool, 2 tubes, snacks, batteries, more food, and a first aid kit (did I mention snacks?). I'm thinking that it'll need to be sturdy.

My list at the moment is...

• Canyon Endurace (probably the Ultegra but I'd love the Campagnolo Chorus)
• Orro Oxygen
• Van Nicholas Ventus
• Starley (something unmemorable like a number)
• Planet X - RT58

I'd also like to look at lots of others. Weirdly the endurace in a size small is almost the exact same proportions and dimensions as my Kona...

iPhone

I went to the London bike show on Saturday as part of my birthday weekend. I expected to come back with base layers and a new helmet to be honest. But I didn't.

What I came back with was a lifeproof case for my soon to be out of contract iPhone 4. Not even 4s. 4.

I had expected I'd upgrade at the end of my 2 year contract to whatever apple had released at that point, but the cost of 4G contracts has put me off. I have a working phone which has apps to blog, socialise, navigate, communicate and track my training. I don't need a camera upgrade. What I need is to be able to strap this to my bike as a GPS. I don't need a lighter phone, it needs to be shockproof and waterproof. Like swimming waterproof.

So I bought a weather and shockproof case and a bike mount.

I also wasn't overawed by the super light racing bikes. Ok so the SPIN titanium bikes are pretty special. I came back resolved to get a brompton and go back to transportation cycling as my method of choice.

So I went to a market place for the new and ended up resolving to be more like my old self. Admittedly still needing to buy new stuff though. :)

Half way there

On Friday I turned 40. There's no way to really sugar coat it. I am now in my fifth decade. This is very fucking old. When I was a child there was no such thing as the Internet, or mobile telecommunications.

Anyway. This means I feel the need to have achieved something in my life. I'm not saying I haven't achieved anything, but I really haven't achieved that much.

Nearly two years ago I cycled the length of the country. This is the kind of thing I should be doing. Exploring, or testing myself. I spent almost all of yesterday with a hangover reformatting this iPad. That is not cool. That is a very middle aged thing to be doing with my weekend.

I had a lovely birthday meal with the lovely Miss S and then she had organised a party and a day out at the London bike show. I got drunk. Very drunk. It was epic...

Thanks a bunch to all my lovely friends. I love you all and here's to many more years of silliness and achieving things that don't really matter.