Life is not a Practice

Easter Monday, the family was asleep and it was only raining lightly.
A 6 km walk through the lovely Allgäu countryside with sun shine, snow and rain but all alone. Met no one all the way.



Track at http://www.gpsies.com/map.do?fileId=smjqzmyneegkzhhb

Picture at http://picasaweb.google.com/neill.hogarth/ViewsAndPictures#

The weather forecast appeared to have lied. It was not raining.
So I set out for a quick hour of race bike. But of course it soon started raining :-) Good that I have such good clothing



Track is at http://www.gpsies.com/map.do?fileId=jhlzirdtszgkgzqo

Full size picture at http://picasaweb.google.com/neill.hogarth/2010CyclingI#

Out with Jon on our racing bikes.

The weather forecast for the rest of Easter is not so good and we had the whole afternoon so we went for a "decent" ride up in to Tannheimertal and back.

Passed plenty of lifts still in operation with people skiing but the temperature was relatively warm at about 13°C



And I am not afraid of racing bikes any more. Well maybe a little bit when I am slipstreaming Jon at 55kmh :-)

The track (53km with 525m of climbing) is here http://www.gpsies.com/map.do?fileId=rneyyhojfarygrwj

and some photos at http://picasaweb.google.com/neill.hogarth/2010CyclingI#

Out with Gertrud, Jon & Lucas on our bikes for a geocaching tour round the Grüntensee. Jon and Gertrud were testing the new electric bikes.
Alison and Max came and met us in Haslach.
http://www.gpsies.com/map.do?fileId=qqayvtedgiqxuaug
Afterwards back home for hot cross buns at our house.



Track is at http://www.gpsies.com/map.do?fileId=dssktpyivwzwuxrs

Did all the following geocaches and found all but one.
Grüntensee 1 - http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=cddf1d6d-bba1-4586-86a4-d6c04f44749b
Grüntensee 2 - http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=b22073ce-18b3-4a02-8c83-5b9998dd8751
Grüntensee 3 - http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=1a1ef619-1659-49dd-b3ba-5353311cc9bc
Grüntensee 4 - http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=c959a55b-5abd-4ed3-8dee-6ddcf059e213
Grüntensee 5 - http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=735a528f-bfd9-4f28-bcfe-a7410cdbf678
Grüntensee 6 - http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=de5a8a72-fa75-4fc3-aa64-9b206f37dc47
Grüntensee 7 - http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=2b9a4a0b-8b08-43bd-9bee-6da49ebebfc1
Grüntensee 8 - http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=130158d5-dc56-43b2-b96b-e9ea07705e8c
Grüntensee 9 - http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=8aee6970-cc94-4151-b276-06d607e07570
Grüntensee 10 - http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=3741d12f-ce31-42a1-a8d4-291f9426d290

All the pictures at http://picasaweb.google.com/neill.hogarth/Geoaching2010#

Today was the first "Bike Club" tour but Jon cancelled it because it was cold (and snowed a bit).
Heidi. Max and I went anyway :-)
Jon was correct. It was -0.7°C when we got back but as the saying goes
"there is no bad weather - just bad clothing"



Track is at http://www.gpsies.com/map.do?fileId=tgqslmzywcxbmajv

Pictures at http://picasaweb.google.com/neill.hogarth/2010CyclingI#

Had an hour to spare on a hectic Saturday so took myself and my racing bike off round the Grüntensee. Some bits of uphill were pretty steep for a racing bike (the way up out of Maria Rain for example).



Track at
http://www.gpsies.com/map.do?fileId=rvahnheywacdvths

Full size picture at http://picasaweb.google.com/neill.hogarth/2010CyclingI#5453330643377311970

All day the sun was shining and I was at work. So I finished early and went out on my racing bike. 35 kilometers in one and a half hours made an average speed of 23 km/h. You really cover ground on a racing bike.



I took a wrong turn on the way back and ended up doing 2 kms on a cart track. That is definitely not what racing bikes are for.

The track is at http://www.gpsies.com/map.do?fileId=dgkgcybnjmtoeupm

I'm still quite surprised at the number of meters climbed. It always feels flat.

Picture is at http://picasaweb.google.com/neill.hogarth/2010CyclingI#5451897697896624930

First time out on the mountain bike this year.

+11°C and raining. Perfect mountain biking weather. Max and I were out for a gentle ride around the Grüntensee. Too much snow to go off road so we stuck to the roads.



Track is at http://www.gpsies.com/map.do?fileId=luokttpiehfdzfxt

Full size picture at http://picasaweb.google.com/neill.hogarth/2010CyclingI#5451085247268731602

It is Saturday and the sun was trying to shine. The temperature was above zero and Jon and I both had time so...

On the racing bikes past Seeg to Hopfen and then on to Füssen. Back through Austria and Pfronten. The photo was taken at the frozen Hopfensee.



The track is at
http://www.gpsies.com/map.do?fileId=tafktkuunyzqneur

The big version of the above photo is at http://picasaweb.google.com/neill.hogarth/2010CyclingI#5450749099691362658
There you can also see where it was taken. My mobile phone is so clever that it uses the GPS built in to remember where I took the photo.

Just as we crossed back in to Germany Jon said "there is a geocache here!" so quickly did that on the way past.
http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=51d02b30-9e18-469e-a7fe-7e94b106c8b8

Averaged 25km/h on the whole journey. When you look at the profile you can see why the first half was faster :-) Maximum speed was 54km/h - on those tiny tyres with those useless brakes!

The doctor says I am better after my operation so I went out for a short test ride to check. And yes - everything works. I took it nice and slow up the hills but a racing bike sure moves on the down hills. I averaged 23km/h.



I felt a little less frightened this time out than last time. Must be getting used to the ridiculously thin tyres :-)

The track is at
http://www.gpsies.com/map.do?fileId=smovqldclsvoflkg

I have been in the hospital in Kaufbeuren since Wednesday and today I was feeling much better so I took a short walk across the snow covered fields.

I had checked http://www.geocaching.com and found a geocache near the hospital - "Aussicht auf Kaufbeuren-Nord" ( http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=1d447996-13bc-4682-a589-dd49a287b222 )

My new mobile phone has a GPS function built in (Nokia E52) so I played around for a bit trying to work out how to use it and then it took me straight to the cache.

The photo shows my "home" of the last few days (the hospital in Kaufbeuren).

The winter must be coming to an end. Yesterday we were cycling and today I was out for an hour skiing in slushy snow. Still better than no skiing at all.

The photo is looking down on Nesselwang which still looks fairly white.

All this years skiing pictures are at http://picasaweb.google.com/neill.hogarth/Winter20092010#

My first cycle of 2010 and my first ever ride on a racing bike. Jon and I went out to try our "new" racing bikes round the lake.
The tyres are "very" small and the brakes hard to reach and you go very fast (especially hidden in behind Jon). It is all a little worrying :-)



Track at http://www.gpsies.com/map.do?fileId=ccqtmbzmdryuonup

Some more pictures at http://picasaweb.google.com/neill.hogarth/2010CyclingI#

Back to work tomorrow so spent 7 hours on the slopes today. In the morning with family including Chris! In the afternoon with Paul



Videos (all of Daniel being crazy)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLnsZTho-nY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xn_9yUkNSQA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mo2931miHl0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzOIdORb2Pc

In the afternnon Daniel was off with his friends and managed a backflip. Sorry but no pictures or video.