Ginger DJ Rob

Wednesday night was one to remember. After leaving work on my bike I avoided the normal route home because of the recent snow and ice and kept to the main roads. Cycling up the final street I stopped at the crossroad junction with my house almost in sight ahead to wait for a Sainsbury's home delivery van to turn right (approaching from the left) onto the road I came from. I was always taught to stay in the middle of the junction to go straight but can now realize how pointless that is. I waited for the delivery van to cross over only to realize that the driver hadn't seen me at all and cut the corner to driving straight for me. There was no time to react apart from shouting ('hey!' and then 'help' I think though this sounds quite pathetic) then banging on the van's screen. Time slowed down weirdly and I remember seeing my foot go under the front wheel and my leg bending backwards. My bike at the time had disappeared under the van. I also remembered two l...

After the major disappointment of failing to get Olympics tickets, Kerry found an alternative to get our bike sports fix. London Prepares was the organiser's way of testing out the newly built venues for next year's Olympics (and perhaps making a little money on the side). As well as basketball at the weekend, the Olympic Park was to host the UCI BMX Supercross World Cup . It was a two day event across a Friday and Saturday. Saturday's ticket instantly sold out so we had to buy Friday seats. Unfortunately, though annoyingly not known at the time of purchase, there would be no actual racing but just the riders doing their time trials for qualification. Getting there was a simple tube train along the Jubilee line to Stratford. After that there was about a 5 minute walk around the new Westfield shopping centre being built. Before getting on the Olympics site bus, we had to have our bags scanned and walk through a metal detector. The site itself also had a airport feel wi...

This year's British Heart Foundation London to Brighton Bike Ride was a mixed bag to be honest. I really enjoyed last year's #L2B as there was the challenge of doing my first plus the weather was a lot more kind. I'd originally missed the deadline to sign up but was given a second chance with only two weeks to prepare. With those positive memories still buzzing I instantly signed up for a second go. Stolen pleasure With just over a week to go I arranged for my beloved mountain-bike to be serviced by South Coast Bikes (picked up on the Thursday night). I'd replaced the cassette and chain a few weeks ago but the gear changing wasn't quite right. Having been in London all day Friday and getting home late, South Coast Bikes were due to return my bike on Saturday morning. A slightly subdued message left on my mobile-phone from the repair shop to call them back resulted in the bitter news of my Giant XTC1 had been stolen that previous evening. Thieves had broken in...

7.30am start for a gentle flat ride along China beach. Started at a marble factory and showroom with sales ladies persistently asking us to buy at every glance. Very grey skies and couldn't see the white Buddha statue in the distance. A few old US vets were visiting where they had landed for the war. Through Da Nang then an energy top up for the big 10km assent. It was a steady pace with really only a numb bum to complain about. Everyone made it but were welcomed by the most pushy-ist bracelet sales women ever. An iced coffee and a lot of peanuts later we rode downhill for another 10km enjoying the speed. Another 10ish km through some really idyllic fishing areas then on the bus for about 30mins through some tight back roads to our lunch destination. More baguettes and Laughing Cow cheese accompanied by a very noisy cat. The family house we stopped at had loads of pretty butterflies and some sort of bee/humming bird insect sucking out nectar. The lunch didn't really fuel ...

Not the best night's sleep and a 6am wake up call. People were already playing on the beach. Breakfast had everything an Asian could want but my European stomach could only handle pineapple. We took the coach for about an hour then set off by bike through a small town to see their market. Talk about sticking out like a sore thumb, the locals were completely amused we were there and how we looked but still friendly. As well as the unusual fish on sale it was the frogs bound together in threes and the meat entrails that were an eye opener. Walking around the market and we'd picked the Vietnamese version of Frank Spencer who was equally fascinated by us. Shame that the surrounding area and drains were strewn with rubbish. The next few km were either flat like the Fens with strong headwind or hills whipping sand into us. At one point the wind was so strong we had to walk up the hill. The wind was quite demoralising so I made the (wrong) decision to stay on the bus for the secon...

Another 6am wake-up call thanks to the Commie propaganda tannoy. Quite a lot cooler than days before so cycling easier. First stint was hilly but had rewarding views. Lots of beautiful empty beaches, breaking waves and a lighthouse. We bused it for an hour and a half for second stint. It started off with a great downhill section into a rough, uneven road. More inland farm scenery but the headwind was bad. If it wasn't for the kids saying hello and giving us high fives along the way our motivation would have been shot. Lunch was basic ham and cheese baguettes with our second iced coffee of the day. The next leg by bus was really bumpy as the roads are so pot-holed and broken swinging us from side to side. The last leg by bike was hardwork against a constant head wind plus a lot hills to end the total of 82 km in darkness with a beer and wine celebration at the end at the hotel. To toast ourselves we use the Vietnamese version of 1, 2, 3 Go. The evening meal was disappointing as...

A 6am start with Kerry recovering from her heat-stroke. Our rep told us that three more of the tour group were expected who'd been delayed by snow-effected Heathrow . At 7:30am we left the hotel on Highway 1 bound for our starting destination for cycling. Driving out of Ho Chi Minh City seemed never unending passing the port and industrial areas which featured truck world, digger world, earth-moving vehicle world, crane world - it seemed to be a positive sign of boom-time for construction. Slightly ironic that after passing all the places featuring construction equipment, the main road out of the city had some pretty bad potholes though there were some resurfacing going on. When we arrived at our cycling starting point, the tour mechanic provided me some superglue to fix my camera mount - bless. The country roads had very little traffic compared to the sea of Saigon scooters. The other good-feel factor was the friendliness of the local children as they waved at us, saying hello ...

Experienced the traffic of Ho Chi Minh City with what could very well have been a million mopeds battling each other to get to work. After about 30 minutes of bus transfer we met up with the support team to prepare our mountain bikes for the rest of the holiday. The Trek mountain bikes provided were surpisingly good with some hassle-free swapping for a bigger frame size. The day's ride lasted about 35km stopping off to see some rice pancake making (used for spring rolls) and to see a rubber tree forest. My handle-bar mount for the digital camera didn't last long due to the bumpiness of the roads. Our last destination for the day was the Cu Chi tunnels , a complex of Vietcom tunnels which were created right under the American forces own camp. There were hundreds of tourists already there but somehow it didn't feel that busy on the tour. As you can see I tried a hideout hole which I could only just fit through. After seeing some of the home-made traps we tried some of t...

With the weather being kind, we cut short our working week taking Thursday and Friday as holiday so we could get some Vietnam cycling training in. The plan was to cycle the 34 miles to a B & B near Bedgebury Forest near Tunbridge Wells . A couple of weeks ago, BBC South East Today featured a special art installation called the 'Electric Forest' at Bedgebury Pinetum . The forest also boasted one of the country's best mountainbike circuit. It was quite a challenge to pack one single backpack bag, light enough to contain enough clothing (including wet weather), minimum toiletries (toothbrush and paste), a bike lock, spare tubes and my Gorillapod for a camera. There was no way I could fit my SLR to take the planned night-time shots of the Electric Forest photos so resorted to my compact Panasonic. With a very fast tailwind, we left at 9am and headed via Lewes for our first mishap, a puncture. By lunch we were about 10-15 miles to go stopping at the Wheel Inn at Burwash W...

In the spirit of The Gadget Show , creating a challenge out of the long task of cycle training, I combined my new HTC Desire with Google Maps. The route we did today was based on the East Sussex Country Council cycling website and their Off the Cuckoo Trail Easy route using Selmeston as the start and looping a figure of 8 via Hailsham . Basically, I took the route suggested in the Cuckoo Trail leaflet and mapped it on Google Maps then viewed it on the phone. With the GPS navigation, it helped turn at the right place and calculate the real mileage. View Selmeston-Hailsham cycle ride 1 in a larger map The first loop was a little dull with just country roads but at least it was quiet. We stopped for lunch at The Yew Tree pub which was ok. The menu was vast if you want a large cooked meal but very little snack choices. The second part of the ride was a lot more enjoyable as we joined the Cuckoo Trail towards Hailsham, a car free cycle route. Even better was the alternative, shor...

Just a few clicks away from the YouTube video I found earlier and I found this and altogether more inspiring video of cycling through Vietnam with Exodus.

With August nearly over and summer ending like the start of winter, I'm suddenly realising our holiday in Vietnam is fast approaching. The weather has been very uninspiring to get out and train on the bike but hopefully this video below will remind me to do something about it. I would suggest muting the middle section of the video or provide your own soundtrack through the whole thing as there's no dialogue or background noises. All well as a flavour to the amount of miles we've got to cover (275 of them), you can also see the quality of the bikes, the support truck and some of Vietnam's scenery. A Welsh guy named Steven Flett took the same trip as us. I quite liked the sound of trying some old guns and firing live ammunition! Read more about Steven's Vietnam experience (pdf)

Just thought I'd say thanks to those who sponsored me on the BHF London to Brighton bike ride. I raised a whopping £315 plus £71.92 in gift aid which is amazing. Below is the list of kind people that made the difference: Kerry Coleman David Coleman (Dad) Kev & Karol Phillips (Bro & Sis-in-law) Donna Saunders (sis-in-law) Jean Brinded (aunt) Mark Allison Julian Wood (thanks for helping me train) Neal Lewis (another L2B biker - thanks for the training and confidence boost) Steve Wilde (no fish costume worn, sorry) Sam Hayward Trevor Gross Emma Sharp Paul Ryan Lucy Tindal James Breen Candide Bench Sukey Booth Paula Lewis It's not too late to sponsor me as the closing date is in September. Related articles by Zemanta BHF London to Brighton Bike Ride 2010 (gingerdjrob.com)

Image by Ginger DJ via Flickr Our cocktail party on Friday went quite well despite the weather and rubbish England performance. Didn't actually get to see much of the football with the bbq, firepit and cocktails to prepare. Then the rain started. The tarp across the pergola was a blessing and it didn't spoil the evening. Really appreciated that everyone understood the 3am curfew so I could get some decent sleep before Sunday. Plus no breakages! Saturday evening was a sobering early night at 9pm with a sleeping pill. Beforehand I was searching for safety pins and packing bubblewrap with sellotape as I'd heard the courier transport would damage the bikes. In preparation for the British Heart Foundation London to Brighton Bike Ride, Kerry had bought £15 of health and energy food including 2 huge chocolate bars at nearly £3 each. I'd use these later like the special dynamite for the steam train in Back to the Future Part 3 (though didn't achieve the 88mph for t...

  Thought I'd missed my opportunity with this but today I got a second chance to do the London to Brighton British Heart Foundation Bike Ride on Sunday 20th June. Now, I really need to get a decent, comfortable saddle as last night's Downs ride, I'm feeling raw. You can sponsor me using this link: http://original.justgiving.com/robincoleman