May 2014 in the Life of Ben (Blog)
49th Scalextric Club (27th May 2014)
Can-Am class grace tonight’s London Scalextric Club. A few old-timers are on holidays at the moment so I had lots of close racing, snapping at the heels of the mid-level drivers.
Borrowed my favourite little Porsche 908 mark III from the club Chair, as usual for this class. It’s a Fly Classic chassis but with a lot of tuning and an upgraded motor since the last time I raced it.
We used 4 of the 6 lanes, racing 2.5 minutes each time. We cycled through these lanes twice, the second round being 12 laps per race.
Bit drizzly on the way there and back but warm, making the ride OK.
White Lane
Exciting start as I was wheel to wheel with both leaders! Sadly I couldn’t maintain the pace and ended up crashing several times.
| Fastest Lap | 9.12s |
|---|---|
| Laps: | 13.55 |
| Position: | Last? |
| Crashes | 5+ |
Blue Lane
| Fastest Lap | 9.49s |
|---|---|
| Laps: | 13.95 |
| Position: | 3rd? |
| Crashes | 3? |
Yellow Lane
Finished narrowly ahead of Mick, despite my pair of crashes.
| Fastest Lap | 9.61s |
|---|---|
| Laps: | 14.55 |
| Position: | 3rd |
| Crashes | 2 |
Brown Lane
Crashed on the 2nd lap and was slow to get going as the guide didn’t self-center. Lonely race, lots of fast laps and only one sketchy moment after that crash. Good distance!
| Fastest Lap | 9.43s |
|---|---|
| Laps: | 14.90! |
| Position: | 3rd |
| Crashes | 1 |
Brown Lane
Excellent drive! It was close for the first couple of laps, with me holding 2nd place. The pressure got to the leader and he crashed out, letting me cruise to victory!
| Fastest Lap | 9.65s |
|---|---|
| Laps: | 12 |
| Position: | 1st! |
| Crashes | 0! |
White Lane
Took out Mick at the penultimate turn due to the chicane entry. I waited what turned out to be a long time as the marshal was confused about why my car wasn’t moving. We got underway again but just 2 corners later I was taken out by Mick! He slowed but didn’t stop, so I finished last.
| Fastest Lap | 9.65s |
|---|---|
| Laps: | 12 |
| Position: | 4th |
| Crashes | 2 |
Blue Lane
Early crash. Was catching 2nd and 3rd marginally then crashed again! Leader ran away with magnet car, perhaps due to the conditions getting colder and colder?
| Fastest Lap | 9.53s |
|---|---|
| Laps: | 12 |
| Position: | 4th |
| Crashes | 1 |
Yellow Lane
We restarted this race as some marshals weren’t ready when the lights went green.
Pretty much lights to flag. 2nd place crashed twice. Towards the end of the race I sat behind 4th instead of lapping.
| Fastest Lap | 9.61s |
|---|---|
| Laps: | 12 |
| Position: | 1st! |
| Crashes | 0! |
Old Tymers Bike Ride (25th May 2014)
Lovely sunny day on countryside roads on the pillion of the Velocette with Dad.
Had fresh out of the ground salad with a jacket potato the afternoon before.
Pregnant guinea pig looked happy and healthy, as do the other three.
(More to follow.) (Photos to follow.)
Local EU Elections (22nd May 2014)
Green Party candidates for my Ward. Clear page, photo of each candidate and a brief description about what they’re about. Same excellent content for the Green Party European Elections.
I make my vote count for the specific things I value. If every other vote does this, the combine to form trends. The most relevant candidates win.
A good web presence shows a party in the 21st century which communicates in a paper-free. As a web professional, that’s important to me. Their other values align with my own, so it ended up being an easy choice.
Tumbleweed (22nd May 2014)
It was 14th December 2013 when I last updated this blog. Since then, Windows Live Mail has dutifully held a draft e-mail where I’ve added a title for each blog entry I intend to write.
Today, many those are now placeholders. Quite a few have the final text and even some photos, so I’ve uploaded all of it to get the ball rolling.
Seeing all these new pages, each one tantalising step away from completion, feels really motivating. I want to finish them up now.
Little Green Ride (17th May 2014)
Having followed the Central London Cyclist Touring Club blog for some months, I started looking at the list of rides for May 2014.
We saw the Little Green Ride was in the gentle and scenic 1-star category. It passes through rural Hertfordshire, Fiona’s home county and remiscent of my own Hampshire. Although it would be about 30 miles, we simply had to try it!
The generous rest stops let me snap a few photos along the way:
Ranging from a deviously narrow and steeply uphill bridle path between overgrown hedges to several broad and sweeping descents, there was something for everyone of modest ambition. Not least being the much appreciated enthusiasm of Simon and Sue, whose mix of immaculate navigation and warm encouragement made the ride quite ineligible for the “Velocipede” award.
An excellent lunch on the shaded garden of The White Horse pub refuelled and refreshed. A cowboy rode in on a horse, accompanied by another rider on another stead. As you can see, I have the pictures to prove it!
Some miles and many conversations later, we shared a gloriously sunny afternoon tea. After an abundance of the second we prepared for a little more of the first: traversing Stevenage as a result.
Our own steeds rested their weary wheels in the doorways of a direct service back to Finsbury Park. After regrouping we said our farewells and went our separate ways.
Space for Cycling (17th May 2014)
A parade of cyclists from all walks of life, riding every type of bicycle. All to promote the fun of riding and encourage local borough councils to provide safer cycling routes.
We arrived 15 minutes late but it didn’t matter. There was such a strong turnout that participants were being released in large batches, with the rest held while the route ahead cleared. Largely – perhaps entirely – operated by volunteers!
I managed to snap a couple of photos whilst stationary. Including one outside Parliament!
