eni is getting down

Bicho Breakthrough

serioussix@yahoo.com (scott) — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 10:56:00 +0000

Well almost.

Second place. Although there's nothing on the trophy that says that it was for second place, so... I could claim it was for winning and you'd all be none the wiser, but I'm just not like that.

From Hervás

AS you may have guessed from the title of this entry, my family nickname is 'El Bicho' which roughly translates as the insect, from my years as a stick insect.
Shades of the Metamorphosis.
Before I started riding again, when I was only a painter, and was smoking I was down to 61 kgs and my wife named me the Stick insect, 'el Bicho palo' and it has stuck. only in the house though.

My good friend Elias, 'Papito' won in his category of the masters 50 and received for this a bigger cup.

From Hervás

Still a good time was had by all. The day before we went to another race and I was 5th after helping my teammate Pablo try and win. He attacked in the penultimate lap and I tried to hold the rest of our group back, succeeding except for one guy who got to him and unfortunately beat him in the final metres when Pablo was slowed by riders who were being lapped.

From Carrera Villa del Prado

At least these guys had a podium.
Anyhow, I know there's more i could say, and all that but I better go and put a celebratory entry on the team blog (in Spanish) and so I'm going to leave it at that.

Bye for another six months.

Stand by Me

serioussix@yahoo.com (scott) — Sun, 03 May 2009 15:19:00 +0000

impresionante

illustration friday

Another year gone by... bye bye 2008

serioussix@yahoo.com (scott) — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 20:12:00 +0000

From SELdia8dic

Well looking back over the three entries in the blog this year and getting back to last year I don't see much to add. No really I don't know what to say. I'm sure I'll detail the cycling year a little but I feel more like a whinge so maybe I'll soon head over to Letters to Tao and do just that.

I feel an obligation to put up a years end entry but it also feels a bit stupid. It's 20 past nine on new years eve and as usual I am here alone with the net. Well, and Eni of course. I just helped him put an entry on his blog and he's off sulking.

And I'm here eating a bowl of cereal, muesli and a special-K home brand rip off, with protein powder and L-Glutamine.
This year I've started taking food supplements on the recommendation of a sports medicine doctor and I think it makes a difference, I really do. It makes a difference to my wallet that's for sure. Here is what I had taken up to September or so, when I took this shot.

From vuelta2008

I'm sure there's a thousand bucks or so just there, could be more. I have it all detailed in my diary so I could add it up, but I'm not going to. Just take my word that it costs. But this year I haven't had those niggley colds and things of that nature, like every other year when I've been training. And this year I've been training and working a lot. I feel like I haven't had a few hours to myself in the whole year. But of course that's partly because I spend all my spare moments on the net, tracking the fall of the civilization and what they've been saying about me on the cycling blogs.

From QH_2008

And of course, they're not saying much, although lately I've had a couple of mentions on Enrique Sevilla's blog
I'm getting that mention because I've suddenly discovered the beauty of attacking the group at the start of the race and therefore getting some "TV time", or in this case a few fotos here and there. And even something getting close to results.

although I did prefer the freaky version of the foto from the aforementioned Sevilla blog

This one came with a caption that said something like "Here we have the podium of the Master 40 category with the presentation by the freaky festival coordinator in traditional dress of Fuenlabrada (the location of the race). By his side we can see the Paloma who fears for his bottom and is sticking close to the podium.

Anyhow, To get back to me, as always, it's time to try and sum up the year. My first year racing in the tightly contested Masters 40 category here in Madrid and I have learnt a fair bit. It took me a while to get up to speed but I started coming good in the Christmas season races, getting myself a third place and a fourth place, second in my category (being a race with the 30s and 40s together).

I previously got myself a fifth some months back in a race in Ciudad Real.
All in all I've done seventeen races and finished all but three, for a puncture, giving my wheel to a team-mate, after his puncture, so he could try and finish and get some points (which counted in the end for him to win the Master 50 championship, along with his previous efforts, of course) and not being able to get back to the peleton after stopping to check on a team-mate after a crash.

From cycling-other peoples fotos

At this race. the team as it was in 2008. next year it's a different line up.

I came eleventh overall in the Master 40 championship series, so I reckon that's all right for a beginner. Next year I plan to improve a lot on that.

This year I only did two CicloMarchas, the Quebratahuesos and the Pedro Delgado.
The QH is the one in the Piranees and the PD is in the Sierra de Madrid. Both are truly hard events and I have done them for the last few years. I improved my time in both.

So to sum up; 16616 kms and 94 and a half hours of the static bike. So the equivelent of 18838 kms of cycling this year and an improvement in most everything I can compare to last year.

If I can get my breathing better I can do alright. You can see above how much trouble I have getting the air in. Oh and I've been battling a bad Anemia and now they tell me I'm Hipertyroid and should take medicine for a couple of years to control it. I haven't decided to go along with that one yet.

Well I'm getting sick of this and I'm sure you are too, if you even exist. So I'll call it an entry.

No painting by the way. I said I was turning into Seton and I wasn't joking.

Love youse all

illustration friday

end of summer

serioussix@yahoo.com (scott) — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 20:23:00 +0000

Well, as the title says, it's the end of summer, or very nearly. I have to start working again, of which I am less than keen to start again with the English classes. If only some Spinning classes would come through. I will be doing some this week and next, but only those; at least for the moment. But for the moment I will be at it again with the English classes. At least I still have the bike to keep me sane.

From vuelta2008

Here she is patiently waiting while I was doing the same, (patiently waiting) for the peleton of the 2008 Vuelta a España to come past this afternoon on the Galapagar pass.
It was my only opportunity to see them this time round, even though they were going to go climb Navacerrada and Navafria today, I didn't have time to go so far as I agreed to be taken to Festibike en Las Rozas.
A sort of trade fair, well a trade fair, exactly

From vuelta2008

you know the sort of thing.
Alejandro Valverde's Pinarello.

From vuelta2008

Nice attention to detail.

But back to the story. Not much of a story really and all the photos I took of the riders, who shot past, as you would expect, turned out blurry as hell.
For example

From vuelta2008

Only the back of the struggling Wouter Weylandt, who seemed to be getting dropped, although I have no doubt he got back on all right, came out sort of reasonable.

From vuelta2008

Anyhow, fun enough.

I will try to come back in less than 6 months to finish up here.
illustration friday

The two of them, or us or three or four...

serioussix@yahoo.com (scott) — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 14:53:00 +0000

Well such a long time, as usual. I have a few days off to celebrate the christian calender, but beggars can't be choosers. One takes what one can get these days. (not that I have that much against christianity per se,(apart from the fact that it's a religion) but the christians are giving it a bad name these days, or perhaps they always have). Anyhow back to me, the main man, at least as far as this blog is concerned. I hope to achieve a few things in these free days from my grueling schedule (I'll have a whinge later on my Letters to Tao blog) and one of same is to post on the blogs and so forth. So here I am.

I gave the two bikes a wipe down and took them down to the square this morning to take a few views of them together.

Eni came along, of course!

One wouldn't expect any less. I'll help him do an entry on his blog later with some more photos of him with the bikes.

But enough of the beauty, back to the beasts.

Any regular readers (I know there is no such thing on this blog, but let's just pretend) would recognise the closer bike as the faithful Orbea of the last 30 thousand kilometres. The further is the new luxury Colnago Extreme Power. And quite the beast it is too. I was a little dissapointed that the difference wasn't more, hum, shocking, as it feels just about the same as the Orbea. It's not like when I changed from the 20 year old steel Battaglin to the Aluminium Orbea. Now that was an astonishing difference. No, this difference was a bit more subtle. But still, the first time I took it for a serious ride though I went up the Galapagar pass, and cut 30 seconds off my all time record there. And it's still basically the off season.

So, difference there is. Perhaps the PowerCranks have something to do with it too. I know that I have suffered plenty with them, so they must be doing something. The guys in the bike shop that I went to the other day flipped out over the cranks that both hang down the bottom of the stroke. I had to give them a lend of my shoes so they could have a go.

That's them, as the theoretical regular reader would already know, from the Christmas day entry on this very blog. They are the training aid from hell, but I would recommend them to anybody who thinks that suffering will get you to where you want to be.

and then there's the top of the line biking experience. Or as close to it as I'll ever get, (I assume). The civilisation will crash before I get a chance to better this machine. It's not really the most beautiful of all the bikes on the market but it's among the most elegant, that's for sure.

Although I was hoping to pull my head in a little on the spending front, I really need to and and all, I also am really sick of suffering such a sore arse. (from the seat of the push bike) so after hearing the for the nth time how comfortable the Fi'zi:k Arione Wingflex was, I gave in and bought one. I took it out for the first time to do the 200 km brevet des randonneurs mondiaux organised by Pueblo Nuevo Cicling Club, and liked it enough to buy the company. No wait, that's not right, I liked it enough to buy another one for the other bike.

So now I have two beautiful Fi'zi:k Arione Wingflex Titanium saddles and 200 euros less.

And also two brand new saddles that just didn't seem to agree with my bum. Both of which are really top class saddles too. And then there's the bottle cage that came with the new bike and all.

Since I am completely hooked on the Specialized Rib-Cage (as you can see if you look again there's two on each bike)

That leaves me with a fifty euro Moro d'Elite without a use. Anybody that wants to make off with a bargain just let me know.

a shout out as usual to illustration friday.

Grass

serioussix@yahoo.com (scott) — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 20:08:00 +0000

An oldy but a goody.
I never did a proper scan of this work before it was framed up and it's taken me until now to get around to unframing it, (to use the frame for another work).

Pencil on finely sanded gesso.

Fuck, I wish I had more time, or less interests.

approximately 1 month of eight to ten hour days, seven days a week, back in 2004 when I was a real artist.

there is a bit more space around the edges with some more water drops, but since they don't reproduce properly anyway...

Some details

From grass

Well, if I still hung around illustration friday I could probably get some comments.
What a shame.

thus endeth 2007

serioussix@yahoo.com (scott) — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 21:37:00 +0000

Yes that's right, it's New Years Eve and I am at home and thinking about going to bed, even though I have drunk a coffee and maybe I am going to go put another one on.

Yes, I did make myself another coffee and it's now almost 11 pm so I suppose I am going to see the new year in after all.
By the time I finish this entry I suppose it will almost be time. and with the amount of firework firepower that will be unleashed as the hour draws near there's no going to sleep anyway.
sometimes I do miss living in a civilised land
Anyhow, on with the year wrap up.
well I don't really want to talk about anything much except cycling. Even my painting seems to be taking a back seat to cycling for me over this year. I've turned into Seton. I was planning that in 2008 I was going to do less cycling and more painting the along comes the offer to join a racing team and turned that plan on its head.

So that's why although there are other things that I do do, there's still above all for this blog the suffering.

From casaybici

If you look closely you can see a half finished painting waiting on the shelf behind
But I digress... 2007
in figures
15907 kms on the road. And that's with almost two months off again this year to try and be there for my mum when she came to visit.
and to have a bit of a rest.
Add to that 57 hours twenty mins of time on the indoor trainer. the equivalent of another 1719 kms at 30 km/hr
So that's about 588 hours of cycling this year.

and that's cycling in the mountains too. Don't think that it isn't like they do on tele. Let's see...
Full size Mountain passes, the eight or ten kilometre ones, (or more of course) 46 this year, with the Morcuera being the one I climbed most, at eleven times, followed by Navacerrada, at five times. and a heap more, even the three in the Pirinees, that make up the Quebrantahuesos, (along with the Hoz, which I relegated to the next category)

From tres_puertos

That's the category of the medium sized mountains, the 3 to 5 kilometre ones, or the longer but more drawn out ones, that anyway, aren't really in the full sized mountain pass category. by my count I did 122 of them this year. and then all the other kilometres that one puts in and all the other hills that I didn't count in either category.

So that's why I am putting even more work in already this year. (well this year hasn't really started yet, there's still a quarter of an hour to go) let's call it the pre-season.

With my new PowerCranks, that I briefly explained last time, and my plans to cut back on my coffee and internet time in the mornings to do my Core training at five in the morning and then more training mid morning when I have four hours free.

So this time next year, one year from now I hope to be able to tell you of the fabulous performances that I have put in over the year and the wild results that came my way

We'll see I suppose, we'll see...
Happy 2008, maybe we'll all see more than we bargained for this year.

illustration friday

Christmas day riding

serioussix@yahoo.com (scott) — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 21:22:00 +0000

Hey that didn't take so long hey.
To come back and post something else that is.
Well there's so much to catch up on I don't know where to start.
Christmas day has come and gone and I did my favorite Christmas day thing. Go for a ride. It was pretty cold though, as you would expect.

But the traffic levels are just right.

Thats what I like about this day.

Don't know where that steam is coming from. All the storm water drains along that stretch of road were emitting steam like that.

I went to the meeting point at the usual time but nobody came along. Just me and Orby. (the bike)
Do you see something different about her? hint: check out those cranks. both pointing forward.

or down, as the case may be.

My new PowerCranks. What are PowerCranks?
(from the website)

Many people hear the name PowerCranks and think they must measure power. PowerCranks do not measure power. They are simply independent bicycle cranks and this simple change does several things for the user.

* teach proper cycling technique
* teach good running technique
* train all the muscles necessary for good cycling and running technique.
* train and balance all lower half muscles including the core, improving performance while reducing risk of injury
* Improve lower extremity coordination improving performance while reducing risk of injury
* and it is all non-impact, allowing increased intensity of workouts while reducing risk of injury in the healthy and allowing most injured athletes to continue to exercise
* training more muscles results in a higher VO2 max (improving performance) and makes it easier for the fitness enthusiast to lose weight by increasing basal metabolic rate.

These changes result in substantially more power and speed for both running and cycling, hence the name. These changes also make athletes more resistant to injury and, if you are injured, they will help you to recover faster. To help you better understand this product we invite you to start with the General Introduction video for a general overview and then move on to other areas that will, hopefully, address your specific needs.

Blah blah blah.
But the truth is that they are the real macoy. The hardest thing I have ever done on a bike.
I am just starting to really get the hang of them now after two weeks of extreme suffering. Thank dog I really like to suffer. The truth is that when I put them on and tried it out, (on the trainer, not on the road), my first thought was "well there goes the fun. It's all work from here on in." Although that feeling has gone away, mostly, and I am back to thinking that it's all good.

Anyhow to cut a long story short, I went by myself, for one of my favourite rides, climbing Galapagar and then Torrelodones and across to Colmenar Viejo via Hoyo de Manzanares.

Which is way out in the country, sort of. Within reach of the Sierra de Madrid as you can see. Them's snow covered mountains boyo

and then it winds down a series of switchbacks into a valley and up the other side...

looking back after climbing up the far side

All of that section is inside a national park too. so really nice and a really hard slog. I was trying to keep my heart rate under 150 beats per minute all the day so wasn't taking it too hard, but it is a pretty challenging route. I am trying to train up my aerobic capacity, and they have me convinced that it is necessary to do whole weeks of long rides without going over a certain heart rate. I have never done that sort of training at all. Always flat out and Devil takes the hindmost, as they say. But this year I am giving it a go. I hope that this year between the PowerCranks and the scientific training and the CycloCore On The Go core training workouts that I am hoping for the big improvements. Oh and this year I am racing too. But I will tell you about that next time. For now I am getting weary as I did 2 hours on the static trainer today and it's late now and all. and like the ride in the bush...

all things must come too an end.

The few photos that I didn't use in this post you can find here.

crissyride

illustration friday

Wow, that took a while

serioussix@yahoo.com (scott) — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 20:56:00 +0000

I don't know how come it took me so long to work out what was going on there, but for six months on the few occasions that I have tried to log on to blogger to post an entry I was getting the cookies and javascript functionality disabled error screen and after trying to get in and checking the recommended actions etc. I just gave up and let it ride for another time. well to cut a long story short I finally got round to the same scheme again and found that for some reason I had www.blogger.com blocked from setting cookies. I don't know how that happened.
I mean that sounds like the obvious solution but I couldn't find the specific block before as it was not just a general blocking of cookies.
Anyhow I am not making the reason for my problem very clear and don't want to go on sounding like a fool in my first post after all this time so I suppose I better cut to a piccy.

I know I have used this one before but i am too lazy to go put another one up to link to it. (and I am pretty damn tired actually, as it is the end of my work week, and if I hadn't of had three strong coffees I wouldn't be here writing this now)

So anyway I would quite like to make this post worthwhile, but I am not sure it's going to work out that way.
I just went and checked my email to see what illustration friday theme it it is Horizon, which sounds quite good for quite a few images that I have lurking aroud but I dont think I will do anything about it.
I am still doing a lot of cycling and in fact will have to make a post or two about what's going on with that as there is really a mountain of things to talk about there, but for the moment I will just link to an album of photos from a few weeks ago when I went out with some friends who have got themselves a tandem

From Con la tandem...

That's Eugenio and Vanessa with the red monster.
Mola hey
Well I'm going to post this and then I will see.
I am glad to have gotten a new post together after all this time and hope to follow up soon.
I better post on the Chiqui's blog too, or at least help him to do so.
so see you all soon

echo

echo

Quebrantahuesos 2007

serioussix@yahoo.com (scott) — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 12:56:00 +0000

The big weekend of the cycling calender for me. I went with my good friends Juanjo and Ester, and their lifelong friends Carlos and Aurora, to Sabiñanigo in the province of Huesca.

From quebrantahues...

That's in Aragon, in the north of Spain at the base of the famous Piraneos Mountain range, scene of many a fine battle in the Tour de France and the Vuelta a España.

From quebrantahues...

On Saturday morning it was the Quebrantahuesos 2007 and I was there, just like the year before, (I was going to link to last years entry but I can't find one. Maybe I didn't write one) to try my best over a very challenging course.
205 kms with nearly 4000 meters of vertical displacement.

From quebrantahues...

Although, as you can see, my cycling computer says that it was only 3500 meters. Still quite a lot however you look at it. And those are real hills too. First Somport from the Spanish side and then you descend into France. Some kilometers after, in the small village of Escot you make a turn into a national park and the Marie Blanque looms, with an extremely hard final four kilometers, then the icing on the cake, the 29 kms ascention to Portalet and just when you thought it was all downhill, a final short but hard and sweet climb to the Hoz de Jaca (I can't find a Altimetrias.com page for this one).
I was going to take the camera but there is really not much time to relax and take some happy snaps, so I decided agaist it. Juanjo took this shot of me approaching the finish line.

From quebrantahues...

Juanjo and Carlos also did some hard cycling that day doing the Treparriscos, a smaller version of the race, for those that haven't trained enough for the big one. I think they found it to be enough

From quebrantahues...

That's them finishing, a little before me.
Here's the three happy troopers in the pavillion after the race

From quebrantahues...

Juanjo looks like he survived better than the other two.
But I was pretty happy with my time of 6 hours and 35 minutes, a full 25 mins better than last year. I can still get it down a bit from there though as I lost a lot of time on the climb to the Portalet because I just ran out of steam, or glycogen or something. I need to work on some of the 'little things' for next year's attempt.
Still I finished 503rd of more than 7000 riders so I can't complain. and to make a big improvement on last year makes me happy. I just would like to keep on improving in the years to come.
A couple more snaps and I had better go to work. BOO HOO

From quebrantahues...

the village where we stayed

From quebrantahues...

A small place, that's for sure. I could live in a place like that.
well I am out of time and though there's plenty more that I could say, I'll leave it for another entry. Hope it's not as long as usual.
cheers
illustration friday

more riding less illos

serioussix@yahoo.com (scott) — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 10:40:00 +0000

well bit of a joke really as I would have to say no illos to be truthful.
and very little study or anything else except reading doomer stuff on the net and doing an arseload of kilometers in the mountains.
since I wrote the last entry saying that I had just done my second mountain climb of the year, I switched to a higher gear and now I have done ten or so climbs.
this one was yesterday.
we went and climbed Abantos, which is one of the most famous climbs here in Madrid.
this year in la vuelta a España they are going to climb it twice and in fact they are going to do the same section after as well so as you can guess it is a real climb. and real hard

From ride29abril

of course they will probably be going a bit faster than me, but them's the breaks. I am forty one and no-one pays me to do this. and my trusty steed, (looking good below hey) weighs three kilograms more than the bikes those guys use.

From ride29abril

although I have professional tires on it right now.
at forty euros each. (thats a bit more than 75 dollars Aussie) Still nice light blue though.

From ride29abril

goes well with the team colours.
even thought the team colours are based on the now changed renault formula one team colours, and you can imagine how much that thrills me, now can't you.
still I really like having matching cycling clothing. (still waiting for my gloves)

From ride29abril

this is during the climb up Abantos, and in the photo below you can see in the middle distance the climb to Robledondo, which if you care to see is the sharp upwards section after the descent from the peak of Abantos, (the longer one, after the two short sharp shocks) in that screenshot of the profile of the day from my heart rate monitor, at the start of this entry.
(repeated below the photo)

From ride29abril

well that's about it. should put an illustration friday entry up at some point, we'll see.

hmmmm.

PS I should point out that under each photo is a link to the rest of the photos of the day.
oh, and this Sunday coming is the first "race" of the year. wish me luck, or something.

second mountain climb of the season

serioussix@yahoo.com (scott) — Mon, 16 Apr 2007 09:41:00 +0000

From navacerrada

and as you can see it hurt, although seeing as I love suffering . . .

seriously though I wonder if it is good that I can spend more than twenty minutes above the theoretical maximum heart rate for someone of my age.

Maybe yes, maybe no.

From navacerrada

anyhow, I feel guilty here when I should be studying, (although the same doesn't seem to affect me when I am reading other people's stuff on the web) so I might sign off, and go do just that

hi to all those illustration friday people who used to come around. hope to see you all soon.
(I must admit I don't even know what this weeks topic is.)

illustration friday--wired

serioussix@yahoo.com (scott) — Sun, 11 Mar 2007 20:29:00 +0000

jeez it really sucks that they come through so small now.
apart from that the new blogger is just fine but I might have to start hosting elsewhere to put some real size images on the front page.

anyhow, I won't bother going on about how I'm sorry to not be posting regular like and all that as no-one's going to believe me.
hi illustration fridayers

illo friday- gravity

serioussix@yahoo.com (scott) — Fri, 16 Feb 2007 21:41:00 +0000

continuing the theme (and cop out) of using the images from the dead book project for my illustration friday entries, I thought that this one seems to fit the Gravity theme.

to the tune of the joker, Steve Miller Band, of course.
sorry it comes through so damn small. Give it a right click and open in new tab.
you do have firefox, don't you

Illo friday - (before the) CRASH

serioussix@yahoo.com (scott) — Sun, 11 Feb 2007 19:19:00 +0000

hey everybody
I'm back, sort of.
I have always been here of course, but I am so agobiado these last few months that I haven't been able to get it together to post.
I was working on a book project but it has all fallen through.
A self help type book for adult ADHD sufferers.
this was to be one of the pages of same.

anyway, it seemed like a good one for crash, although as I noted in the title, it's more like before the (inevitable) crash. hello to all the hardworking illustration friday people, and I hope to be around a bit more.
love youse all
Scott

illo friday - help

serioussix@yahoo.com (scott) — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 20:14:00 +0000

it's hard to tell if this will work or not. I have changed to the beta version of blogger and it doesn't like me trying to put big pictures on the blog, or at least on the front page
anyhow, I'm assuming it will work because the image exists. I have it open in another browser window right now.
if not I will have to repost

illustration friday

EDIT: Well that really sucks, now I am using the beta blogger I can't put big versions on the front page. as is my want.
pout.
(and if you don't believe me about the first time go here

but if you try to hotlink it as an image it comes up as the little crossy thing

Illo Friday - Thanksgiving

serioussix@yahoo.com (scott) — Thu, 23 Nov 2006 20:34:00 +0000

hey I'm back,
long time off line
but to show how I'm not slack
thought I'd chime
in with last frid's illustration friday theme

september 11

serioussix@yahoo.com (scott) — Mon, 11 Sep 2006 15:14:00 +0000

I would just like to promote this video
download a copy for yourselves
it's worth it
I'm sorry if that's a bit cryptic but I cannot do justice to this trying to describe it and just wanted to get it out there since I found the downloads page

peace

(oh and by the way it's not actually a 911 video, so don't be worried about that)

illustration friday

wild mix

serioussix@yahoo.com (scott) — Fri, 01 Sep 2006 23:45:00 +0000

can't be writing stuff now though

shadow Hosted on Zooomr

galiciamonafternoon Hosted on Zooomr

fromthewindow Hosted on Zooomr

lastride-1 Hosted on Zooomr

lastride Hosted on Zooomr

elpardorain-2 Hosted on Zooomr

elpardorain-18 Hosted on Zooomr

too tired

illustration friday

photos from galicia

serioussix@yahoo.com (scott) — Fri, 18 Aug 2006 21:52:00 +0000

we had a bit of a long weekend away
Lourdes, eni and I caught a plane to Galicia and stayed in a place on the beach.
Galicia is the bit above Portugal on the western edge of the Iberian peninsula.
full of old stuff, like this half built medieval bridge.

but the smell of bushfire smoke was never far away, as there was over 1000 bushfires that week in Galicia.

but we were right next to the beach, and that's hard not to like

and the smoke made for some beautiful photos, devestating effects on the everything not-withstanding

the other side of the ria, which I suppose you would call a fiord, or inlet, or something

sunrises over land and sunsets over the ocean.

I'm still not feeling very talkative but there's quite a few more images on my flikr page, linked from that box at the bottom of this page. Unfortunately, I've already used up my upload bandwidth for the month so the rest will have to wait.
lots of dog shots of course. Maybe later I'll do an illustration friday, but don't hold your breath, or as they say here in spain, wait sitting down, although they say it spanish, claro

clean-illustration.friday

serioussix@yahoo.com (scott) — Mon, 31 Jul 2006 20:34:00 +0000

illustration friday

hey, I'm back

serioussix@yahoo.com (scott) — Tue, 16 May 2006 09:59:00 +0000

although I am out of time to write my content, but I will come back to finish up later today
shit, I mean poo I mean joder.
it's been a week since I wrote that.
how time flies, and rightnow I am here instead of where the plan calls for, - out on my bike getting some more kms in.
dog knows I need them.
my ability to procrastinate lately, instead of get out there and suffer like a god, is costing me dearly.
and obviously the same thing happened last tuesday as well

at least that's a smile ¿no?

ever since I started to relax a bit, that has become my new norm, while the others in the group are doing secret training , or eating less ice-cream, or doing something because every time we come to an uphill stretch I'm off the back and I don't like it.
I was climbing really well, when I wasn't working.
that's pedro next to me in the following photo.
don't let that knome like appearence fool you. he he shaved off that beard he would look like the killer that he is.
he came in only four minutes after the winner in a recent 'race' to the mountain pass called navacerrada. in about fifteenth place.
and although I didn't do it I know that another day he climbed navacerrada in 26 mins and I took 34 on sunday.

and that fellow behind is the same sort of problem.
they are just killing me in the climbs now.
I have to do some serious rectification.
anyhow, I've got to go now or it's just not going to happen.

and eni is crying from frustration.
vaya team.

illustration friday

It's been a while

serioussix@yahoo.com (scott) — Sat, 08 Apr 2006 20:06:00 +0000

though things are still the same.
we are stuck in the routine, although it affects each of us differently

I just haven't had much time or inclination to update the blog when things are, . .
I don't know, basically depressing.
I don't like admitting that I am depressed to my world wide audience, but there you have it. still life goes on

or, still, life goes on. nature is as complex as ever, and we are as ignorant as ever

it's spring time already and there's plenty of floral action around

I am completely at a loss for words
completely sick and tired of the status quo
maybe we'll move to Bolivia
if Morales appears not to slacken of in his efforts, I'd love to go and do what I can to support a move away from capitalist imperialism.
after all is said and done, there remains plenty to say and do.
well I'm not making much sense now.
I need to go to bed.
more cycling kms tomorrow.

to the anonymous commentator from last time, have no fear, the crash didn't keep me off the bike.
In fact I did 300 kms that same weekend and have done 1900 since then. and if it didn't rain so many weekends I would have done more.
so don't worry, be happy.

illustration friday

really losing the plot

serioussix@yahoo.com (scott) — Sat, 18 Mar 2006 16:10:00 +0000

can't seem to get it together enough to post at all

so just some skies, so you'll know that I still live

and take photos sometimes

all taken on my sister's birthday

but I forgot to ring her, and didn't remember again until she rang me to find out if I was still alive

unforgivable
although kraus forgives me

illustration friday

I've been tagged by teri C

serioussix@yahoo.com (scott) — Fri, 03 Mar 2006 10:48:00 +0000

thanks teri, I have enough time to do this now (I think)
although the truth is, as usual, that I have very little time indeed
any how the tag is to reveal four things about me in different catagories.

four jobs I have had
well I have had a mountain of them
1. my fist job; at 13 and a half; assistant to the news agent, operating the primative paper rolling machine on saturday and sunday mornings, from 2 am to 5:30 or 6 o'clock. 30 dollars a week, if I remember correctly.
2. my first full time job, after I dropped out of medicine; dog food delivery driver, for a company called HAY YOU Pty. Ltd: and no I am not kidding.
3. my higest paying job; although it was only for 42 days. working as an unqualified rigger and all rounder in the last frantic lead up to World Expo 88, in brisbane, queensland. I earned 9000 dollars in the forty two days and 'pissed it up against the wall', although I also went skydiving.
4. my most missed opportunity job; working once a month or so hanging the shows in Micheal Milburn's gallery in new farm. (rest in peace Micheal)

four movies I watch over and over
1. Pulp Fiction; I don't think I need to say any more. one of the all time greats.
2. Baraka; If you have not seen this movie, you really should drop what you are doing and go search it out in a specialty video shop.
3. Pink Floyd's The Wall; I watched this movie 8 times in one weekend, at one point of my life, quite a long time ago.
4. Toy Story and Toy Story 2; I could sit right down and watch them again right now.
(if I had the time and a video player, because I own them on video, in the spanish dubbed versions), and anything else by Pixar.
hors catagoria. Torrente. el brazo tonto de la ley. A classic spanish movie that I can't recommend highly enough.

four places I have lived
this is hard.
1. Kingston. I have a house still in Kingston, not the one in Jamaica though, Kingston in Logan City, between Brisbane and the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia. I would be happy to live there again, even though it's in my hated suburbs.
2. Madrid City. at one stage I lived in Callao, which is as central as you can get, but now I live in Tetuan, right where Metro Francos Rodriguez is.
3. Blackwater, Qld. a coal mining town, where I lived during the formative period between ten and twelve approx. very country Queensland.
4. Coles Creek, Qld. on a dairy farm called Kevindale. when I though I could drop out. I didn't succeed because I didn't stop drinking, but it set the tone for the second period of my life. from there I went to Art College.

four TV shows that I watch
well this is easier, because I don't watch any.
true Gasp. I don't actually have a TV, although I do have a tv tuner card in this very computer, but I only fire it up if there is cycling on.
so
1. Tour de France
2. Vuelta a España (tour of spain)
3. any other cycling race. (which translates as none)
4. previously I did watch quite a bit of tv, and would again, which is why I don't own one. shows I would watch include, for example Blackadder, I'm Alan Partridge, The New Statesman, Alas Smith and Jones, Father Ted etc.

four places that I have vacationed
also can't really say I ever have vacationed, in the usual sense. but I have been places. so here goes.
1. Fiji, with my mother, when I was fifteen. my mum and dad got married in Fiji, and we had an uncle or two living there, so we took advantage of that and went and stayed on the cheap.
2. Kata Juta. one of the most incredible places on the planet. We camped illegally on aboriginal land about 30 k's to the west and arrived two hours before the legitimate sightseeers. bit bad but I recommend it as it's the only way to see it alone.
3. Segovia. here in Spain. amazing aquaduct, and castle and stuff like that
4. Sydney. far more beautiful than I really thought all my life.

four favourite dishes
1. spagetti bolognase, as made by me
2. avacado on toast, with king island chedder, or parmasan or some rich cheese
3. muesli, with corn flakes and fruit juice and skim milk and yogurt
4. maybe ice cream, with chocolate cereals, or maybe lomo adobado.

four sites I visit daily
1. http://www.fromthewilderness.com/ something everyone should do
2. clusterfuck nation by jim kunstler I include jim kunstlers blog in the interests of truth as I do visit almost everyday, but I no longer pay any attention to what jim actually says on his blog as he has turned out to be a complete fuckstick, pardon the french. he even has the gall to deny 911 truth. but his commenters are not all so backward and if you want a way to make some sense of the web, do what I do, read the (500 or more every week) comments and follow the links that are offered there and you will have a direct line to the most interesting things on the web.
3. jack dinglers blog although as with my own weasledogs lair is not updated everyday, I still go hopefully looking. I started going here as he is a regular and very valuable commentator on the aforementioned clusterfuck blog
4. the weather in madrid (according to robots). I also go to this one and click on Madrid, right in the centre and read the human written version. and it's all bad news again tomorrow. (for cycling)
and I look at my yahoo mail.

four places I would rather be
I'm not sure I would rather be anywhere that I am not. but if you insist.
1. climbing mountains on my bike
2. amongst the termite mounds in the Northern Territory
3. Tasmania
4. anyplace away from the city and all the people

four bloggers I am tagging
1. jack dingler jr
2. detlef
3. joe
4. lily and lucy white, who count as two I suppose.

thanks again teri for thinking of me
well now I have really got to go, (and let them know) and go to bed.
illustration friday